“You’ll understand when you become a parent.” – Dad’s Everywhere
This year, I think we should start our Father’s Day Cards like this:
Dad, you were right. I have kids now, and I am sorry for being a normal, rebellious teenager with a terrible attitude and inability to see that I was wrong and you were right. I’m sorry for thinking I was smarter than you when I was only 14 and for always being mad at you. I am a parent now, and therefore, I truly do understand. Thank you for loving me through it all and for having hope that one day I will finally come to my senses.
This would be a great start to honoring your dad this Father’s Day, but it is not always as simple as writing a letter.
Relationships Are Complicated
Father’s Day can often be mixed with many emotions. It is perfectly normal to, on one hand, want to honor your mother and father and, on the other hand, grieve the events that were not what you had hoped or needed at the time. We all want the perfect family, and especially the perfect father.
However, your dad, mom, siblings, kids, and anyone else in your life are just humans working to do the best they can with what they know. So, this Father’s Day, I encourage you to look over the following scriptures about fathers and think about how you can honor your dad right where he is in this life and for the dad he was for you.
Honoring Your Dad Begins With Remembering
My dad taught me how to be brave. When I was little, my dad always pushed me to try new things and reach beyond my comfort zone. He took me on my first roller coaster when I was six and taught me how to swim and ride a bike. He took me on my first airplane ride. I will never forget these moments, and I often think about them when I face my fears and try new things as an adult.
He was the type of dad who gave thoughtful gifts. I still remember him coming home one day with a VHS. It was a gift for me, the movie was Cinderella. I grew up watching this movie at least once a week, and she became my favorite Disney Princess.
My dad was also very big on teaching my sister and me to embrace our natural beauty by having rules in place, like no makeup until you are sixteen or no ear piercings until you are eighteen. Growing up, these were difficult rules to embrace for a girl like me who loved all of the pink girly things and wanted to wear makeup and all the jewelry. But today, I realize what a gift it was to have a dad who taught me this lesson!
I could tell many stories about my dad that have positively impacted my life. But this doesn’t mean we’ve always had a smooth relationship. However, remembering these moments fills my heart with gratitude and makes me want to live a life that will honor him and my family.
The Older I Get, The More I Understand How Difficult It Is To Be A Parent
My dad had strong convictions when I was growing up; sometimes, they caused conflict between us. But the older my kids get, the more I realize how important it is to remain true to your convictions, even if it is difficult for your kids to accept them, especially if they do not agree.
A father’s love can be complicated unless you find a way to understand and look to the heart of what your father wants for your life. Maybe you grew up without a dad or didn’t understand why your dad did what he did or believed what he believed. But that doesn’t mean you can’t honor your dad this Father’s Day.
Start By Understanding God Is Your Heavenly Father
When I was pregnant with my oldest daughter, I remember a girl telling me God is a good Father who wants what is best for His kids. I didn’t understand this concept until she told me. The timing was perfect because I was overwhelmed with the feeling of protecting my unborn child. I loved my daughter with all of my heart, and when I got pregnant with her, I finally understood the Heavenly Father’s love for His children.
Up until that moment, I thought God was an unjust God and that He would never want me in His life. I felt He had already rejected me because my life was not honoring Him. I thought I was condemned, and I didn’t like that at all. But it was in that moment where the truth about God being a loving Father broke through.
While I didn’t give my life to Christ then, I still think about how God works and how I can trust Him to be the loving Father to me and my children. It was a defining moment in my spiritual walk. That girl planted a seed that would later flourish into my relationship with Jesus.
Understanding God’s Love Is A Stepping Stone To Honor
We must understand God’s goodness and what it means to be a great Father. Even when we feel we live under the Lord’s discipline, we must realize that God always looks at the bigger picture. He stands by His convictions, and His heart for us is unconditional love. A good father wants what is best for his children, even if that child does not know the whole story or why they are struggling.
You might believe He always wants to rescue you and make you happy. But the fact is He is a loving Father who cares more about the condition of your heart than making sure you are always in a good mood.
Every day, I remind myself that God loves my kids more than I do. This makes it easier for me to trust God during difficult parenting moments. If you view God as your heavenly father, you must lean into the Lord’s Love for you. You can have strong confidence that He loves you and those around you more than you will ever know.
What Kind Of Relationship Do You Want To Have With Your Father?
The Prodigal Son is one of the most moving and inspirational parables I think Jesus ever told. Of course, that’s just my humble opinion. However, once you become a parent, you know what waiting for your child to return home feels like. Whether they are living a life like the prodigal son squandering it all away or just because you haven’t seen them in a while. Parents want their children to be in their lives, just like God wants you to be in His life.
I love how the parable of the Prodigal Son has a personal meaning and provides many lessons for parents who have prodigals. It is also such a beautiful picture of how much God loves us. He is the loving Father who wants to give us an amazing party when we finally return and come home. This parable says God is your home; He created you, so why not return to Him?
The parable teaches us how to reconnect with our Heavenly and earthly Fathers.
Even though I have a good dad, there have been many times when I’ve had to examine my heart and my relationship with him. I have had to realize what choices I needed to make to be closer to him or build a stronger relationship with him. In the Parable of the Prodigal Son, the son had to turn back and make some changes.
It is not easy to admit that your relationship with your dad is partly your responsibility. However, if you have a dad, you need to decide what kind of relationship you want with him. Building this relationship with your father won’t be easy, and maybe you have no idea where to start, so I suggest renewing your relationship with God.
If you can’t find a way to honor your earthly father practically, then honor him through establishing and building a better relationship with your heavenly father.
What If Your Dad Does Not Want To Have A Relationship With You?
If your dad is not in your life and does not want to have a relationship with you, or he physically or emotionally cannot be a father right now, then you can still take the first step to forgive him. Next, lean into the truth that God wants a relationship with you.
Your Heavenly Father is the best father you will ever have and is the greatest teacher! Your heavenly Father will take you out of your comfort zone, love you unconditionally, and teach you new daily lessons. What you desire from an earthly father can be found in your relationship with your heavenly father.
Father’s Day Bible Verses About Fathers
There is no doubt Father’s Day can be painful, confusing, and even filled with joy and gratitude. I think the best Father’s Day gift you can give to your dad or to God is to learn the way of wisdom and live a life of honor—a life honoring God and honoring your father and your mother. This will take a lot of grace, forgiveness, and mercy.
The following Father’s Day scriptures will show you how to honor your earthly father and relate to your heavenly father.
Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it. – Proverbs 22:6 (WEB)
It is important for you to have a relationship with your heavenly Father so you can teach your kids how to have a relationship with Him, too.
You fathers, don’t provoke your children to wrath, but nurture them in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. – Ephesians 6:4 (WEB)
This verse emphasizes the importance of understanding God’s discipline and instruction. God wants us to grow, and sometimes, this means doing hard things and going through trials.
Fathers, don’t provoke your children, so that they won’t be discouraged. – Colossians 3:21 (WEB)
God wants to encourage you, not discourage you.
My son, don’t despise Yahweh’s discipline neither be weary of his correction; for whom Yahweh loves, he corrects, even as a father reproves the son in whom he delights. – Proverbs 3:11-12 (WEB)
God loves you and He does not want you to get hurt or stay in unhealthy situations.
Like a father has compassion on his children, so Yahweh has compassion on those who fear him. – Psalm 103:13 (WEB)
The Father of Lights is full of compassion for His children.
The father of the righteous has great joy. Whoever fathers a wise child delights in him. – Proverbs 23:24 (WEB)
The role of a father is to teach the next generation to walk in wisdom.
A righteous man walks in integrity. Blessed are his children after him. – Proverbs 20:7 (WEB)
Spiritual growth will allow you to be the father your children need. When you grow, you honor those around you.
A wise son listens to his father’s instruction, but a scoffer doesn’t listen to rebuke. – Proverbs 13:1 (WEB)
It is so important to listen for the guidance of The Holy Spirit and be obedient to those instructions.
As you know, we exhorted, comforted, and implored every one of you, as a father does his own children, to the end that you should walk worthily of God, who calls you into his own Kingdom and glory. – 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12 (WEB)
A good, good Father always wants His children to walk in God’s everlasting love and understand the importance of grace in their lives.
It is for discipline that you endure. God deals with you as with children, for what son is there whom his father doesn’t discipline? But if you are without discipline, of which all have been made partakers, then you are illegitimate, and not children. Furthermore, we had the fathers of our flesh to chasten us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits, and live? For they indeed, for a few days, punished us as seemed good to them; but he for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seems for the present to be not joyous but grievous; yet afterward it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it. – Hebrews 12: 7-11 (WEB)
God’s Word also says love covers a multitude of sins. A loving father will always work to make sure his kids are safe. While I have only been a mom for just 20ish years, I have learned I can’t protect my children from everything in this life, but I can lead by example on what it means to turn to God when life gets hard.
I have lived enough to know we do not grow without trials or discipline. So, while most people might think a loving father does not discipline, the exact opposite is true. A loving father knows people need discipline to become all they were created to be.
My son, listen to your father’s instruction, and don’t forsake your mother’s teaching: for they will be a garland to grace your head, and chains around your neck. – Proverbs 1:8-9 (WEB)
The older I get, the more I realize how little I knew when I was younger, even just a few years ago. I feel like I am growing leaps and bounds spiritually and mentally. However, the lessons my dad has taught me have stuck with me throughout the trials, the rebellion, and the growth. It just took time for those seeds to grow.
I am so grateful for my dad. He chose to walk the tough road of parenting. He did everything he knew to teach me new things and make me the woman I am today.
God Changed My Life
I will never forget the girl who told me about my heavenly father. The Father who loves me so much and wants to protect me. That was a new concept back then, and I didn’t believe it could even be true. But now, I believe it is true. Thinking about the grace and mercy I walk in daily because of God’s steadfast love is overwhelming.
Having a relationship with Jesus is the greatest joy of my life. I never thought I would say that, especially as a young girl pregnant with her first child.
Remember, Understand, And Grow
So, I hope and pray that you will find a way to honor your earthly and heavenly father today. I hope this Father’s Day is one of healing and gratitude.
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In