Council Grove Christian Church

6/17/26

Servants of God,
“I believe in God the Father Almighty…”
-from the Apostles Creed
God’s design for children is wonderful. They need both a mother and a father. They need the care and comfort that both parents bring in the unique way that maleness and femaleness are complementary. A child faces many challenges and when the hurts come (as they surely do) there is a time when a child needs a father’s presence and care. Children need a father that they can trust.
Because sin brings disorder into every human interaction, pains, sorrows and woe come. We quickly learn that often the things that ought to be right are badly marred by sin. We find it hard to believe that a relationship or opportunity or situation that was once good can go south so quickly. Marriages fail. Children become alienated. Employers act badly. Politicians manipulate and betray our trust. The car quits. The bills pile up. Most of us regularly need to hear words of encouragement that tell us that things will be alright. Christians who possess the hope of eternal life still need to be reminded.
God our heavenly Father knows our situation. He knows our needs. He knows our struggles. He also has  promised not to forsake us or leave us deserted and dependent only upon ourselves.  When God promises that he will never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5) we hear words of comfort. When Jesus said that our heavenly father knows we have need of the material things of life—things like clothing and food (Matthew 6:32) it frees us up to seek the kingdom of God and God’s righteousness. There is a good reason that the early Christians confessed that they believed in the God who is “God the Father Almighty…” (Apostles Creed).
Human fathers who take the role seriously work to communicate to our children that we are present and will act on behalf of our children. God, as our heavenly Father (who is truly almighty) can deal with any challenge we face. In our human fathers we get a glimpse of what fatherhood can and should be. In God, we see it perfectly portrayed.
The proper role of the human father in a family is to care for his wife and children. When he does, those in his care can experience peace, harmony and safety. When a father misbehaves, it sends shock waves of fear and doubt down the family tree all the way to the roots. Too many reading this will understand what I am talking about. Dads matter. They matter most when there is danger and trial lurking.
Father’s Day is a time for reflection on the past and for preparation for the future. Nothing is more noble than a man who enters the covenant of marriage and sires children whom he provides for and guides into responsible Christian adulthood. None of us does it perfectly but none of us has to face the task without divine help. When Christians through the centuries have declared that God is “Father” they are claiming to be under divine guidance and that they are the recipients of divine grace. God has taken note of our brokenness and dispatched His only begotten son to rescue us from death and hell.
God watches over us as a responsible father does his children. He is perfectly watching over us. Even when we cannot clearly see it, he has given us his divine promise of provision and protection. We can and must trust him and be comforted by him. When we read the Bible and hear Christian testimonies of God’s providential past actions, we can have true hope for the future—even to eternity. God’s gracious actions in history telegraph his future behavior on our behalf.
When the Christian is tempted to doubt whether the future will be okay, he must remember that our heavenly Father has declared it will be. On Father’s Day, nothing is better than knowing that the best care a dad can give is to do the will of God regarding his children. And nothing is sweeter than the thought that we have a perfect heavenly Father who we will one day see and understand has been caring and providing for us each step of our short earthly lives. He is a Father we can trust. He is the wonderful Father we will spend eternity getting to know, love and serve.
Happy Father’s Day to all.
Blessings,
Pastor John
Coram Deo