It is that time again when our thoughts, attention and focus are centered on one of the most significant persons in our lives - our fathers. Unfortunately many children as well as adults seem to have great difficulty identifying or relating with the father in their lives.

Mrs. Marilyn Hodge

How about you? Are you one of those persons? What is or what was your relationship with your father? Can you look back and reminisce with love in your heart and a sparkle in your eyes whenever you think about your dad, your father? What kind of person is he or was he? Or are you one of those persons who don’t know or cannot identify with your father?
When you hear the word 'father’, ‘dad’, or ‘daddy’ what feelings does it evoke for you? Is it a feeling of love, admiration, endearment, joy or happiness? Or is it a feeling of sadness, hatred, indifference, bitterness, remorse or pain?
Regardless of what your relationship is like with your father, what he has done, or what he has not done, there is an overlying principle in Scripture that our father is to be honoured. Ephesians 6:1-3 is one of the two verses we turn to when speaking of our relationship with our father. Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. Honour your Father and Mother (which is the first commandment with a promise) so that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth.
Paul's quote in Ephesians comes directly from the Ten Commandments - Exodus 20:12. Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be prolonged in the land which the Lord your God gives you. Honouring your father means to love and respect him. It is not only the right thing to do. This commandment holds with it the promise that you will live a long life. That promise alone is one that you can stand on and will help you to overcome the days when honouring your father proves to be difficult.
Whatever your relationship may be or have been with your father, today could be the day when you begin the healing process. Today can be the day for you to let go of the old grudges, pain, anger, resentment, bitterness, animosity, hatred, indifference, sadness or anything else that you are, or may be, holding against him. For this may be hindering or holding you back from moving forward with life.
If you are a child who has been, or is presently, suffering from the abandonment of a father, or an adult who has negated your responsibilities of being a father, today can be the day to seek forgiveness and start afresh. Bad relationships can be made better and good relationships can be made great. It is all up to you and what you want. Do not allow selfishness or pride to deter or dictate your course of action. A father/child relationship is extremely important in the development of children. It is one that can affect their lives forever either positively or negatively.
It is imperative for us to understand just how important the fathers’ role is compared to the image of mother, for fathers play just as important a role as mothers but each one is different.
Fathers are the solid foundation of our lives. They are the shore we swim to when our arms and legs feel increasingly tired. They are the strength we rely on as we take our first tentative steps into the world. Dads can be tender, tough, fragile or powerful but they are probably the most uncomplicated love we will ever know.
For daughters, Daddy is the first man they adore ... the first man whose eyes shine with overwhelming amazement when they look at us. He is the first man to fall in love with us.
For sons, Daddy is the idol they first aspire to emulate ... their mirror image of what will be and possibly the only man they will ever feel comfortable loving.
Daddy is the first man who held us, as a loving parent, with a lump in his throat so huge, only the joy of that love could erase the overwhelming pain of choking on unexpected raw emotion. When a father holds his newborn baby, he is touched by pure vulnerability for the first time in his adult life, leaving him forever humbled by the unexplained miracles of life.
For mothers, the father of our children should be the one person we can trust to watch over our babies as closely as we would. We should be secure in the knowledge of their love for our precious offspring. For a father’s love is a special kind of love that can never be replaced.
It is crucial for us to remember that fathers are incredibly important in their children’s development. Fathers bring to the table things that mothers simply cannot offer; they teach lessons that mothers simply cannot teach.
Fathers have a strong and powerful influence in their daughters' development -- their self-esteem, how they see themselves. Daughters tend to view themselves as their fathers viewed them. They expect to be treated as their fathers treated them. A father who is involved in his daughter’s growing up shares a special bond with her. It is agreed that good father and daughter relationships tend to make the daughter more confident and have a good self-image.
Many young girls, as they approach puberty, tend to lack self-assurance and have low self-esteem. If their fathers acknowledge them as capable and beautiful individuals, they grow up knowing that they are loved for who they are. Fathers who take the time to listen to their daughters find that they can communicate better with them. This open channel of communication between fathers and daughters will lead to greater benefits in later life. The young child will grow into an articulate person with strong opinions. Looking at the many examples of great women today, we know this to be true.
Fathers are often adept in helping daughters with problem-solving skills and risk-taking. Fathers who make a difference in the lives of their daughters can change their world. Women who have positive relationships with their fathers because of positive fathers and daughters relationships tend to be high achievers and are able to choose life partners who will respect and value them for who they are. A father’s love for his daughter accentuates her self-value and defines her as a worthy person.
On the other hand, a father and son role is extremely powerful as well. Fathers and sons can affect each other's lives substantially, in both positive and negative ways, and the relationship has been found to be an important predictor of a son's parenting style, his attitudes towards sexuality as well as emotional health and his success in interpersonal relationships. It, therefore, shows that a genuine positive bond between a father and son has the possibility to shape a man's communication attributes in nearly every sphere of his life. As an old adage aptly puts it, "Link a boy to the right man, and he seldom goes wrong."
There is no role in our society that suffers greater neglect as far as God is concerned than that of the father. Not only has God given men the incredible privilege of imitating Him as Father but He has placed upon the shoulders of fathers an incredible responsibility. So as we observe and celebrate Fathers' Day, it is fitting and appropriate to remind fathers of their God given responsibilities and that is - to bring up their children as God instructed them to.
So, on behalf of all mothers, I would like to take the liberty of thanking all fathers from all our hearts for this honour and for being our partners in this business of raising children.
Have a blessed Fathers' Day.

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