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Father's Day
June 16, 2012

In the United States, the third Sunday of June, tomorrow, is Father's Day, a day set apart to honor our fathers. The original father was God. This is why in the Lord's Prayer, God is referred to as our father.

Matthew 6:9-13
After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.

Historically, the father was the head of the family. In our modern age with various types of families, some families may be without a father for whatever reason, and sometimes the idea that the father is the leader of a family may be somewhat strange. The example is given with God as our heavenly Father. So this can cause us to begin to wonder if God is our heavenly Father, does this make us his earthly children?

Romans 8:14-17
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God: And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.

We are the earthly children of God, and this means that God is our heavenly Father, when we are led by his Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit that brings us to God and it is this same spirit that allows us to have God as our Father. Beyond this, the same Holy Spirit makes us a child like Jesus was a child of God, and we have the opportunity to be a joint-heir of the promises. This means that all that was promised to Jesus, we can receive too. We may need to suffer with Jesusin order to receive the same inheritance. That same inheritance is available to us.

1 John 3:4-11
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

We know we are children of God when we do righteousness and love those around us. What this means is we obey God and live in a way that shows respect for other people. If you think about the ten commandments, some of these show us how to love God and the rest show us how to love those around us. We are children of God when we keep his commandments. And as a very large family, on a very long journey, we are reminded that we need to love one another. So on Father's Day, we can rememebr to honor our fathers (and we can do the same for Mother's Day). We can also remember that God is our heavenly Father and we are his earthly children, when we keep his commandments.

All verses are from the King James Version.
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