Good morning from the sparrow's perch. I came in a little extra early so I could sit in my church office and enjoy the song of the sparrows and the cool morning breeze.
HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!
I've been blessed to be a father. Although I can truly understand why fathers would hate going to church on Father's day. First of all, if you received the typical gifts of a BRIGHT, COLORFUL, and GARISHLY INDECENT tie, or whatever typical father's day piece of clothing innocent children are coerced by wickedly insensitive wives to buy for you, you will be forced to wear it to church. Have you ever noticed how the women gather together on Father's day in little clumps of eight and snicker. YES, they are admiring one another's ability to humiliate the man of their home through the loving hands of their children. If you somehow escape the humiliation of having to wear a tie with cute little animals or cartoon characters, you will be forced to endure the Father's day sermon.
NO WONDER MEN HATE TO GO TO CHURCH!
We get lambasted at Christmas for not being able to secure a room for the night. At Easter, we're chastised for crucifying Christ, on mother's day we're the heels in a loaf of bread, and on Father's Day we're sorely lacking as role models, and spiritual leaders. It'd be easier and less humiliating to stand out in the hot June sunshine and do primal cooking upon the outdoor cooking device. This, a man knows how to do!
With all that said, I am grateful that I attend a church fellowship where the men are appreciated, the sermons are never holiday oriented, and the men are good fathers. I'm also grateful that my children have finally learned the one basic truth I've been trying to teach them all their lives; Don't buy me cheezy gifts, just give me your heart. You see, as a father, I love my children whether they buy me gifts or not. My daughters and my son, will never figure out to ask me what book I'd like to read, or what movie I'd like to own. This is because somehow we've tied in the giving of gifts to the notion that we're all mind readers and know what each other really want. It's kind of like when I bought my wife a vacuum cleaner for our seventh Christmas. I won't repeat what was said. After numerous ties, T-shirts declaring me to be the world's best dad, I took a cue from my wife and told my children just to give me a call. Let me know you are thinking of me.
Our heavenly Father knows that feeling. He reminded me of it this morning as I prepared to leave for the church. I was ruminating over the events of the past week and thanking him for bringing me through it all intact. I looked down at the seat of my truck and remembered that I'd forgotten to pull out my dad's card. 'Darn! I forgot to give it to him!' Suddenly, the Holy Spirit reminded me of the offerings that were supposed to be brought before Lord, by the Jewish people. The scripture where He declares his distaste for the fat of bulls and rams sprang to my mind.
WHY DID HE DESPISE THEM WHEN HE ORDAINED THEM?
They weren't the gifts of appreciation! They were the offerings for sin. The Lord's favorite holidays were celebrations of relationship. Passover celebrates the birth of a people out of a life of slavery, Pentecost celebrates the expectation of life, and faith. The feast of Tabernacles is the celebration of provision in the desert and relationship through that provision. For God, the garish, indecent, and continual sacrifice of animals for the wickedness of man was the farthest thing from what he truly wanted. What he wanted, was what He had in the beginning; relationship.
Thankfully, through the gift of Christ Jesus, we have the most awesome Father's Day gift of all, and it is the Father who provided it. After he paid the price, he told us; No more Cheezy gifts, just your heart. That is all any father really wants. That is ALL He wants.
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