Like many special days to honour,
“Father’s Day” is also one among them that is observed throughout the world,
today. For some of us have the privilege of being with our father and
celebrating it with him but for some he has become a memory and brings nostalgic
memories. Fathers are kept in high regard by their children as they look to him
for answers in this baffling world. It is good to acknowledge all the
sacrifices each father makes to providing his child a luxurious lifestyle and
bringing up with excellent moral standing.
Some have the joy of experiencing happy father-child
relationship, but some have dreadful experiences of abuse and hurt by their
fathers. I would like to quote the life of Josh McDowell who experienced
abusive childhood. He narrates his experience elaboratively in his book "Evidence,
that demands a verdict" He says this in his book, "While
I was growing up, my father was the town drunk. I hardly ever saw him sober...I
would sometimes find my mother in the barn, lying in the manure behind the cows
where my dad had beaten her with a hose until she couldn’t get up. My hatred
seethed as I vowed to myself, “When I am strong enough, I’m going to kill
him.”. It added more pain to Josh because having an irresponsible
father made him vulnerable to sexual abuse by the hired cook and housekeeper
from the age of six.
His troubled childhood forced him to grow up hating God,
eventually to become an atheist, making all attempts to disapprove the
existence of God, Jesus. He convinced other students that there is no God at
all. Sadly, a miserable childhood can deconstruct the faith in God itself.
However, his life story takes a turn for the best where he takes a break for 18
months to research and disprove the resurrection of Jesus. During the process
he encountered the love of Christ and was completely transformed. As a
conclusion to his story, he states this, "You can laugh at
Christianity. You can mock and ridicule it. But it works. If you trust Christ,
start watching your attitudes and actions—Jesus Christ is in the business of
changing lives. Christianity is not something to be shoved down your throat or
forced on you. You have your life to live, and I have mine. All I can do is
tell you what I have learned and experienced. After that, what you do with Christ
is your decision.”.
Perhaps the prayer I prayed will help you: “Lord
Jesus, I need you. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. Forgive me and
cleanse me. Right this moment I trust you as my Savior and Lord. Make me the
type of person you created me to be. In Christ’s name, Amen.”. Accepting
Jesus in his life helped Josh to forgive his father and share the love of
Jesus, that his father too was fully transformed and radically changed. You too
can have your life transformed if you ask Jesus to work in you. He is our best
father, a God who resurrected and lives to be the best eternal Father one can
have. But as responsible earthly fathers, can we all live to raise our children
with all respect and be a great role model they ever had?
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