Who’s the daddy?

With Father’s Day approaching (June 17), I’ve been thinking about what it means to be a good father. I can’t draw on the experience with my own dad as, despite his immense potential, he has spectacularly failed as a father figure.

But the Bible gives us a host of fatherly figures to look at. I’ll start with the not so good and lead up to our best inspiration: our Heavenly Father.

The bad and the ugly

• Noah got hammered and passed out naked, then realising his son Ham had spotted him, cursed Ham’s son Canaan and all his descendents
• Lot volunteered his daughters to be raped by a mob in a bid to spare his two male guests from the same fate
• Jephthah killed and burned his innocent daughter having made a foolish vow to God
• Isaac and Jacob both caused major problems in their families through favouritism
• Eli, Samuel and David all had problems with their sons because they did not discipline them properly. Eli’s sons both died on the same day as a result of their disobedience and brought judgement on the entire family. Samuel’s took bribes and corrupted justice and David’s son Absalom killed all of his brothers and later tried to overthrow and kill King David himself.

Sheesh!

The good

It wasn’t easy to find good father figures, so I just picked one. Although Joseph wasn’t Jesus’ biological father, I think he did a number of admirable things. First, he honoured Mary, Jesus’ mother, even though she was pregnant and he wasn’t the father. In The Message it says he was “chagrined but noble”. Second, he went on and married Mary but resisted consummating the marriage until Jesus was born. Third, he listened to God’s warnings and protected his family from Herod’s influence. Fourth, we presume he taught his son the family trade – carpentry – as well as self-discipline and a strong work ethic.

The outright perfect

From the beginning of time, we – God’s children – have made bad decisions and rebelled against his guidelines for life. Unlike Eli, Samuel and David, though, God disciplines us carefully; not to hurt or humiliate us, but to allow us to become more mature, reliable, honest and committed. Like Joseph, he protects us, is patient with us, and gives us the knowledge we need to live full and fulfilling lives.

God knows how to give us powerful gifts in a way that no earthly father could. That’s because he knows our every thought, dream and, most importantly, what is good for us. Added to this, the Bible says He will never, ever leave or forsake us – something many of us struggle to believe because our own fathers have let us down.

While God totally allows us to make our own choices, He has also come up with a plan for when we make the wrong ones. By sacrificing His own perfect son, Jesus, He allowed us to become part of his family – children of God and co-heirs with Christ; the apple of his eye (Zechariah 2:8).

Over to us

So what does a good earthly father look like? Well, first he should love God and honour his own father and mother. Second, he should love his children as Jesus did, welcoming them with open arms whether it’s convenient or not and reassuring them he will always be there for them.

Third, he should patiently discipline his kids so that they will avoid future heartache and train them well so that they stay on the right track (Proverbs 22:6). And dads should also have fun with their kids; laying work and other concerns aside to make time to spend time and laugh with their children – whether they are in nappies or all grown up!

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Sorted magazine - it's a Father's Day special! Buy your bumper pack today and get 50 copies for just £50!

What’s so good about Good Friday?

I wasn’t sure what to write my blog on this week, but seeing as it’s Good Friday, I thought I’d see how people around the world are marking the occasion. Some of the stories I found were pretty shocking...

In the Philippines, 17 Catholics have been 'crucified' in a re-enactment of the death of Jesus. Apparently this ritual has been going for 26 years and attracts thousands of people each year.

Nails are driven into the participants’ hands and feet in a bid to atone for their sins or to give thanks for ‘miracles’. However, the Catholic Church has condemned the practice. I’m pretty sure that’s not what Jesus meant when he told his disciples they were to take up their cross and follow him (Luke 9:23).

In Trinidad and Tobago the tradition is to hang effigies of Judas Iscariot on telephone poles. These effigies, known as bobolees, represent Judas’ betrayal of Jesus. In rural areas these bobolees are often attacked and disfigured as a punishment for his actions.

In more positive news, $3.4 million had already been raised for Melbourne’s Royal Children's Hospital Good Friday Appeal by 3pm in Australia. The charity is hoping to beat last year’s total of $15.1 million. The money will be used to buy much-needed machinery that can be used to provide both MRI and PET scans.

Meanwhile, Catholics in Cuba are celebrating Good Friday with more rigour than usual this year as the communist country agreed to mark the special day with a public holiday. Despite the fact that religious holidays were cancelled in Cuba after the 1959 revolution, and fewer than 10% of Cubans are practising Catholics, it seems the recent visit of Pope Benedict has had an impact.

In the UK there were several stories of marches being carried out to mark the day of Jesus’ death, but other than that it can often feel like any other day – apart from the fact we get the day off of course. Will people spend time remembering what Jesus achieved on the cross or is it just another holiday for gorging ourselves on chocolate and booze?

Considering the incredible sacrifice Jesus made, we should go out of our way to celebrate his death and resurrection. Why not invite someone to your Easter Sunday service, or arrange for people to come round and watch The Passion of the Christ? Or even just post on Facebook what Easter means to you…

Easter isn’t be about self-crucifixion, revenge or even raising money (although there's nothing wrong with this), but about the forgiveness, healing and freedom Jesus provided for us when he gave his life in our place.

John 3:16-17 says: "This is how much God loved the world: He gave his Son, his one and only Son. And this is why: so that no one need be destroyed; by believing in him, anyone can have a whole and lasting life.

“God didn't go to all the trouble of sending his Son merely to point an accusing finger, telling the world how bad it was. He came to help, to put the world right again” (The Message).

Read more from Joy in the next issue of Sorted magazine.