It's an overcast day, and a father is taking his son fishing. They settle themselves and their gear into the boat and start across the lake... but the waters are rough with the waves cresting into whitecaps. The waves crash against the small vessel and fold over the sides into the boat. Soon the boy begins to make his way to the back of the boat. As the boy huddles near his father he feels a sense of safety even though they must still pass through the middle of the lake where the wind is the strongest and the waves are the roughest. The father, well aware of the tempests, safely and carefully guides the boat to just the spot he had in mind - a calm bay where he knows the rough waves cannot reach.
The son in the story is my dad and the father my grandfather. As my father spoke of this fond memory - one that had happened on more than one occasion - it reminded me of my Heavenly Father's watch-care over me.
The same way this little story shows that my dad viewed his father as his protector, as someone he can trust, as someone who would guide and keep him safe, so our Heavenly Father is to us. "But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil." (Proverbs 1:33)
My grandfather knew just the right fishing spot to bring my father to - a place of calm amidst the rough waters - and safely guided my father there. Our Heavenly Father's presence provides courage and peace in the midst of the turmoil and storms of life. "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee." (Isaiah 26:3) He has a plan for our lives and is leading us along the right way. "Cause me to hear thy lovingkindness in the morning; for in thee do I trust: cause me to know the way wherein I should walk; for I lift up my soul unto thee." (Psalm 143:8) "As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him." (Psalm 18:30) Much more control than my grandfather was capable of having, our Heavenly Father controls all things. "And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth." (Matthew 28:18)
I'm so very blessed to have a great dad, but I know that not everyone can say this for themselves. Perhaps, someone reading this is disheartened at the image which reflections of their own dad bring to mind. Like my maternal grandma's dad, a drunkard who gambled away his earnings instead of providing for his family's needs. Yet another may even have been deserted or never had a chance to know their father at all. Do you know that it's not too late to be born again into the family of God? Become a child of His to know what this kind of love is really all about. "Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me." (John 14:6) Christ also said, "And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand." (John 10:28-29)
I'd like to wish a happy Father's Day to my dad, and to all the dads that may be reading this. I encourage you to keep modeling the Great Eternal Father above. I imagine some of you dads may have regrets or feel that it's too late to be the great dad you wish you could have been. None of us is perfect which is why Jesus came to suffer and die for our sins. Let me tell you the rest of the second story - the one about my great-grandfather who failed his wife and kids. Near his death, he trusted Christ as his personal Saviour. Christ clothed him in His righteousness before taking him home to glory. May our resurrected Lord fill you with hope and joy as you trust Him with your life. "Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." (Matthew 7:14)
