Dear Friends of "Dial Daily Bread,"
As Father's Day approaches, we think of the duties and the privileges of being a father. In order to realize the blessings of fatherhood, we need a Savior who reveals to us the character of our heavenly Father. To "see" Him is to be transformed into His likeness.
To be such a father means to learn to love as the heavenly Father loves. The very essence of being such a father is to love one's children as Christ reveals how the heavenly Father loves us. We read that He "gave Himself for our sins" (Gal 1:4). Such love means self-denial built-in to the character; father always senses the motivation to deny himself for the good of his family. It's never what-can-I-get-for-myself but always what-can-I-do-, or give, for them. The SUVs and boats and electronic toys take second place, as well as the time to be spent playing with them; the physical and spiritual needs of the family take precedence.
The "Elijah" message, which is due in the world today, is the means through which this spiritual vision is communicated to men who are by nature born self-centered (as are we all; see Mal. 4:5, 6).
The East African Hornbill is a male bird which shuts his mate up in a hole in a tree, and patiently, faithfully ministers to her and the young until they can fly on their own. Day after day he is out seeking insects and other food, which he dutifully carries to her in her imprisonment. It's a beautiful little glimpse of "marital" fidelity which apparently is communicated through natural means.
But for us, paternal fidelity is communicated through the Savior's ministry for our self-centered human hearts. He changes men who are naturally worldly, self-centered, into unselfish, faithful husbands and fathers. In this way we "may be the children of [our] Father which is in heaven," exhibiting the divine-family trait of a love which is agape.
This explains that mystery of being "perfect." Jesus says, "Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Matt. 5:44-48, King James Version). You don't "do" this great change; you let Him do it, responding to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.
--Robert J. Wieland
From the "Dial Daily Bread" Archive: June 9, 2000.
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