Wesley wrote today on being a Father. Enjoy.
We all have a father who loves us, and we are
his children.
The Father which I speak of is our father in
heaven. The apostle Paul preaching on mars hill said. " That they should
seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be
not far from every one of us:
28 For in him we live, and move, and have our
being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his
offspring.
29 Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of
God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or
stone, graven by art and man’s device." Acts 17:27-29.
And in
Romans he taught." The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that
we are the children of God:
17 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."
Every day we worship and honor this Father, but
today I wish to talk about our earthly fathers, their responsibilities and
blessings that come to them by fulfilling their roles and callings as a father
to their children and the children who stand in need.
Personally, for me, it is my Father in heaven
whom I love and wish to serve, and keep his commandments. My greatest joy has
come when I have done so.
For instance, I was told I should find a marry
a fine women, which I did, which the world would say limits my freedom, and my
happiness, and places a burden upon me, and I should wait and postpone it as
long as possible.
Nothing could be farther from the truth. If I
could change anything, I would have gotten married sooner, for it has been one
of the greatest blessings in my life, and has brought me the most joy. So
in keeping this commandment I have been truly blessed.
One of
the blessings of my marriage has been my six children. I will admit, at first I
was frightened by the idea of being a father, and the responsibility that
accompanies the calling. But, it like my marriage has been one of the
greatest joys in my life, and has been most rewarding and fulfilling, and I
expect as I get older these blessings and rewards will continue to multiply,
and I will truly be a rich man.
Now on to the topic of Peter, the little boy
from Africa, whom my wife and I are trying to legally adopt into our family.
Some may ask, what is it that has compelled me to adopt him? I admit, I felt no
special connection to him at first, other than he was a child of my Father in
heaven, in great need of a father and a mother and of brothers and sisters on
this earth, who was hungry, sick and lonely, without love and affection,
without someone to teach and nurture him into becoming a man.
James said " 27 Pure religion and
undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows
in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world." James
1:27.
If I, a
man professing to love God, could let this little boy starve and be lonely all
his life, and go without the love of a father and a mother, what would that say
about my faith in God? James continued to say " What doth it profit, my
brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save
him?
15 If a brother or sister be naked, and
destitute of daily food,
16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in
peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things
which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead,
being alone.”
I know I cannot feed the world or care for all its needy, but for this one I
can, who's name is Peter. When I had five children and the sixth was
born, I did not all of a sudden become financially destitute. So it will be
with the seventh, as we move forward to adopt Peter.
I am one
man and can only do so much on my own, but, if my fellow men and brothers in
Christ would ban together, we, together could help many of the orphans and the
needy in this world and could make a great difference in their lives and in the
lives of our families.
For surely the Lord will bless us with the
strength and means necessary to care for and serve his children, who stand in
need. Perhaps our sons will follow our examples, and one day there will be no
more children crying in the dark and lonely night for a father to love and
teach them.
During the short amount of time Peter has been
in our home I have been truly blessed with an enormous amount of love and
compassion for him, and it is I who have been blessed by his presence.
He has brought me great joy and love. I would
encourage all men everywhere to experience this joy and love, by serving those
who are in need of a father.
It doesn't.
have to be a child from Africa, it could be your neighbor, a niece or a grand
child who is fatherless or in need. There are opportunities all around us.
Choose one.
Happy Father’s Day.
