GRAY HAIR
Posted by: bhfbc <bhfbc@...>
GRAY HAIR
June 15, 2008
TEXT: Psalm 105:1-15, 42-45
Upon the discovery of her first gray hair one mom immediately wrote to her parents, "Dear Dad and Mom, You saw my first steps. You might want to experience this with me too." She taped the offending hair to the paper and mailed it. A few days later she received a response, "Dearest Daughter, Thank you, but we just want you to know that this is not the first gray hair you've given us!"
This is Fathers Day, and in order to be a father, one must have at least one child. And, yes, children do give us gray hair. On that note Happy Fathers Day!
As I considered Fathers Day, I reflected on the fathers from the Bible. As a result, I made a surprising discovery. The Bible testimonies of fathers with honorable traits those characteristics we want to see in fathers today are extremely sparse. Consider the Old Testament. The accounts are filled with fathers who were deceptive, selfish, greedy, and disobedient. This is especially true during the period of the kings when fathers would side with select members of their family over who would inherit the throne. Those conflicts could get quite messy. In fact, we find plenty of accounts from the Old Testament where Gods children do the kinds of things that give their Father gray hair.
In the New Testament, there is actually very little testimony about fatherhood at all. Yes, there are a few passages that instruct us about family life, but when it comes to actual fathers demonstrating fatherhood, they are few and far between. There is the account of Jairus, for example, who came to Jesus to plead for the healing of his dying daughter. That is a positive example of fatherhood, but there is never any discussion with the disciples about whether they had any role as fathers or not.
So where do we find any Biblical guidance about fatherhood? As I said, there are some guidance for fathers and families included in some of the New Testament books. From the Old Testament, some guidance is found in Proverbs. From such Scriptures, a picture of fatherhood can be pieced together. As important as they are, though, the most important examples of fatherhood come from God the Father Himself. In this Psalm, as well as numerous other Scriptures throughout the Bible, the attributes of God described for us give us a glimpse of fatherhood. Of course, we must recognize the differentiation between divine fatherhood and human fatherhood. Clearly, God is holy and righteous and the proper object of our worship. No earthly father can compare in that regard, but there are still valuable insights that we can gain by patterning human fatherhood after Gods divine fatherhood.
First, our Father makes and keeps promises. He remembers his covenant forever, the word he commanded for a thousand generations, the covenant he made with Abraham, the oath he swore to Isaac. (Psalm 105:8-9) One of the marks of righteousness and holiness, and one of the attributes of God, is truthfulness. God does not deal with His people falsely, for it is not a part of His nature. Therefore, when He made a promise, or covenant, His word was good. His word is good. Every promise will be kept. Not one promise will be made by God that cannot be kept.
Human fatherhood should also be marked by truthfulness and promise keeping. The first promise to be kept is our promise of faithfulness to God. The second promise to attend to is the promise made on our wedding day to our wife. Fathers who keep just those two promises will be a blessing to his children.
When we make promises to our children, we need to strive to keep them. There may be times when unavoidable interruptions happen. Fathers in the military are called to unexpected duties sometimes. Fathers volunteering as firefighters and EMTs can be called away suddenly. A lot of jobs require times of extra duty, or other emergencies might come up. But do not break a promise frivolously. Do not neglect your children over and over because of personal entertainment. Always remember your promises and responsibilities.
Second, our Father protects His children. He allowed no one to oppress them; for their sake he rebuked kings. (Psalm 105:14) Testimonies of Gods protection for His children ring throughout the Bible. Not everything was always cheerful for the Israelites or for the Christians spoken of in Scripture, but they could always count on the presence of God to bring them peace in the midst of trouble. Ultimately, God protects us from any other who would seek to capture our soul and separate us eternally from our Father. God will not let that happen to anyone who confesses that Jesus is Lord.
Human fathers should strive to protect their children. We dont have quite the resources that our heavenly Father does, but we use what we have to protect our family. The best and greatest protection is introducing Christ into their lives early on. Help them establish patterns of devotion and love for Jesus. Help them to put on that whole armor of God that is so necessary these days. It used to be that even men who openly rebelled against God still sought to protect the innocence of the child. That has become less important, unfortunately, as we as a culture have demanded more and more personal freedom. Now I am a firm supporter of freedom and liberty, but the personal freedoms demanded these days are for the purpose of sinful pleasure. It is demanded more and more that all society not only tolerate but actively accept sinful behavior. One of the unfortunate consequences is that the childs innocence is no longer sacred. So it is that lawsuits are leveled at libraries and other places of public access that try to put filters on their computers to reduce access to pornography. Rather than place limits on the adults who are supposed to be responsible, some legal organizations demand that access be granted even if it means taking the chance that children in the area could be exposed to it. Sadly, this is not an issue only in public places. Parents in some homes would rather expose their children to a variety of harmful sinfulness instead of protecting the lives of those entrusted to them. Unfortunately, theres plenty of that even on regular TV. It should not be so. Fathers should protect their children.
Third, our Father loves His children. He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen one with shouts of joy. Psalm 105 is a brief recount of the Exodus from Egypt. God led the Israelites out of their slavery in Egypt because He had compassion for His children. Gods divine love is the driving motivation for the other two attributes of God: promise keeping and protection. Gods love fills us with eternal hope.
As miraculous as the deliverance from Egypt is, the awesome height of Gods love is found in the suffering and sacrifice of Jesus. When the Father sacrificed His Son for the benefit of rebellious and ungrateful generations, He displayed the most powerful act of love that there ever can be. When we honestly reflect upon and evaluate exactly what God has done, then we begin to learn what love is. Simply put, our Father loves us.
Human fathers should love their children. For most fathers, this is true. We make sacrifices for the benefit of our children. In places where extraordinary measures must be taken and extraordinary sacrifices made, fathers even give their lives for their children. I really dont have to go into detail about sacrificial love and fatherhood. We know that they should go hand in hand.
But how do we know this? What is it that makes a fathers love for his children right? It is because it is what God has placed in our hearts and shown us Himself. It is because we know that since God has made and demonstrated such a sacrifice for His children, then we should also make sacrifices for ours. When we honestly think about it, God has not revealed His attributes in His word simply for the exercise of study. It goes deeper than that. God has revealed His attributes as His lesson to us. We are not to just learn about God; we are to be like God. Since that sounds a little new age-y, I want to make myself very clear. We cannot make ourselves to be God. We cannot replace God with ourselves. To attempt to do so is sin. But we can in fact, we should do our best to be the person that God instructs us to be. Since God is love, then we should strive to be love, too. It does none of us any good to learn about the character of God and then trot off our own way saying, Thats nice. Now Ill just be about my own business. No, that will never do. Instead, our response should be, Wow! I want to be like that. I want to treat my children like God treats His children. Human fathers should love their children.
I dont think that we can literally give God gray hair. But I do know that His children have given Him plenty of anguish. In spite of it all, He still showers blessings upon His children. He still provides the way for reconciliation and salvation. God chooses to redeem us instead of giving up on us. Human fathers can do no less for their children. It has been said that a child is not likely to find a father in God unless he finds something of God in his father. (Austin L. Sorensen in These Times (June 1979). Christianity Today, Vol. 32, no. 13) So no matter how many gray hairs our children give us, let us seek from God the Father the strength to never give up on them. He brought out his people with rejoicing, his chosen ones with shouts of joy; he gave them the lands of his nations, and they fell heir to what others had toiled for that they might keep his precepts and observe his laws. Praise the Lord.
Rev. Charles A. Layne
First Baptist Church
PO Box 515
179 W. Broadway
Bunker Hill, IN 46914
765-689-7987
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