Hope for the Day After Father’s Day
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Photo by Paul Vaarkamp
Most of you know that yesterday was Father’s Day. At Vintage Church, every father received a bottled Coke or Root Beer which the vKids decorated with neck ties. We are thankful for our fathers!
However, we also recognize that fatherhood can be tough. It is not easy juggling the demands of work and family. Often most fathers lose hope that they will never be the father they need to be to their children. Some of us grew up in a home with no father or a home where our father did not lead well. Some of us grew up in homes where our father was an incredible leader, a leader we struggle to emulate.
Let me encourage you today, the day after Father’s Day . . . There is hope. Hear these words from Colin Smith:
When you look at your life, your family, your work, your church, and your world, what you see is a work in process. Imagine your home is in the middle of being remodeled. If the contractor doing the work were to abandon the project, it would be a disaster. But you know that what you see now isn’t the final outcome. The way you live with the mess is by leaning on the promise that the contractor will complete the job.
When God began his work in your life, he committed himself to finishing it. Every man in the church who belongs to Jesus Christ will one day reflect his glory. So lean into that. God has more grace still to come in your life. There are more things he still has to do in your life, in your family, in his church, and in the world. And when he does them, they’ll surprise you with joy.1
What an encouragement! This encouragement is exactly what Paul told the church at Philippi: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” (Philippians 1:6). You and I might not be the perfect father we need to be, but God has begun a work in us that he will see to completion. Trust in Jesus today as you seek to be the father he has called you to be.
1Colin Smith, “Fathers, Lead Well in Your Homes,” The Gospel Coalition, June 20, 2015, accessed June 22, 2015, http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/fathers-exercise-the-leadership-god-has-trusted-to-you.