I’m kind of a pack rat by nature. I believe it’s genetic—if you were to see my Father’s land or his shop or his storage shed it would be immediately clear to you where I get my tendency to find things and hold on to them. And so, when I arrived at my last parish in Maryland, it was completely natural for me to rummage through the leavings from the last person to occupy my office. I found a few odds and ends that I thought were worth hanging onto, but I found one thing that was so good I had to put it on my office door.
Here’s what I found. Now, for those of you who are sitting towards the back I can describe it to you: Right over here there’s a picture of a little guy, and he’s holding a ball and looking up at you with those big eyes . . . you can tell just from looking at those eyes that he’s just dying for a bit of time with Dad. But it’s the caption that catches my breath every time I see it. It says, “You’re already a role model . . . The question is: What kind?”
I kept this on my office door . . . and I’d look at it every time I went into the office. I kept my door open, so I could see it throughout the day. And when quitting time and I was tempted to make that one more phone call or work for just a little bit more . . . I’d invariably look up and see this little guy . . . and I’d wonder, “What kind of role model am I? What are my kids going to remember, once they’re grown?” . . . and I’d shut down the computer, turn off the lights, and get on home where I needed to be.
Now, why did I do that? Because I understand the first rule of being a father. I understand the thing that makes the difference between (proud) “That’s my Dad!” and (embarrassed) “oh . . . that’s . . . um . . . that’s my Dad.” I understand that the first rule of fatherhood is that far more is caught than taught.
When things are taught, there’s a formal system of instruction, a process for learning things. But when things are caught they’re learned just through watching, through observing. My father taught me how to change the oil in the car by showing me how to do it step by step, he taught me the difference between a two-stroke and four-stroke engine by explaining the process to me . . . but he didn’t teach me to be a pack rat. That’s something I caught all on my own just from watching how he operates.
I caught quite a few things from my Dad . . . Throughout my life I’ve watched my Dad struggle and fight and scrap to make his dreams come true. He’s like a badger—he’ll sink his teeth into something and hold on, and no matter what life would throw him he’d be there, holding fast and working hard to make his dream a reality. Tenacious . . . some might say even a bit stubborn. Yeah, I caught that.
Throughout my life I’ve seen my Dad being a entrepreneur, starting up new things, being his own boss. I caught some of that, too. It’s what led me to make my first attempt ministry the planting of a new church. Dad’s also an extremely caring and giving man . . . there’s never been a time that I can remember him not be there for someone, there’s never been a time when I’ve seen him turn down a plea for help. And yes, I caught a bit of that, as well.
Now obviously, I’m talking a bit about my Dad because its Father’s Day today, and God makes it clear in His word that we are to honor our fathers and mothers. So I think it’s perfectly appropriate to spend a bit of time celebrating our fathers. Think about it for a moment, and then tell me; What are some things that you caught from your father?
[interactive portion]
There’s so many good memories . . . God has blessed us with our fathers. I truly believe that. But I’m a father myself . . . some of you may have noticed that ;-) . . . and so I know first-hand that sometimes fathers fail. There are times, when, despite all my words, my actions get in the way of what I want be like, of what if want my kids to be like. The good I want to do, this I do not do, the evil I do not want to do, this I do. You know the times when I get most upset with my kids? It’s when I see them imitating my faults . . . it’s when it’s all too clear that what they caught from me is something that’s not quite so nice. Kids do the deeds of their fathers, they do the things that their fathers do. In other words, you can tell a tree by its fruit, regardless of whether the apple that didn’t fall too far from it is good or bad.
Remember the first rule of fatherhood? Far more is ________ than _______. Well, in Jesus’ day there was a group of Jews that didn’t understand what that meant for them. If you would, open up your Bibles to the Gospel of John, chapter eight, verse thirty-one.
Just previous to this section, Jesus had been telling this particular group of people who His Father was, that they could know who His Father was if they would simply listen to His words and watch His actions. Hear that? Jesus was saying that they could recognize His Father by looking at Him. But now in verse 31 Jesus begins to change the subject a little bit. 31 “To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, ‘If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. 32 Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”
33 “They [that is, the Jews who were there], they answered him, ‘We are Abrahams’s descendants and have never been slaves of anyone. How can you say that we shall be set free?” See, right away they are making a claim. Jesus says they are slaves that need to be set free, and right away they are making a claim based upon their genealogical heritage. “We are Abraham’s descendants! We’re not slaves!”
But Jesus knows better. Verse 34 continues, “Jesus replied, ‘I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know you are Abraham’s descendants. Yet you are ready to kill me, because you have no room for my word. I am telling you what I have seen in the Father’s presence, and you do what you have heard—or, in other words: what you have caught—from your father.” Jesus takes their own words and puts them back on them. Sure, they are Abraham’s descendants, they have a biological, genealogical connection with Abraham. They can trace their family tree from Daddy to Daddy to Daddy and eventually get back to Abraham. Big . . . deal. Means nothing. Jesus knows it, and now they know it, because Jesus says, “sure, you’re Abraham’s descendants . . . but you’re acting just like your daddy.” Which brings up the question: Who’s their daddy? Keep that in mind for a minute, because we’re about to hear two different answers to that question, and they’re both wrong.
“‘Abraham is our father!”—that’s their first answer.
But Jesus says, “If you were Abraham’s children, then you would do the things Abraham did. As it is you are determined to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do such things. You are doing the things your father does.”
“We are not illegitimate children! The only Father we have is God himself!”—that’s their second answer.
Vs 42. “Jesus said to them, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and now am here. I have not come on my own; but he sent me. Why is my language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father the Devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is not truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Yet because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me!”
Now what’s going on here? Jesus and this group of Jews are going back and forth, and Jesus is essentially saying that He can recognize who their father is because of what they are doing. “Abraham is our father!” No, he’s not. “God! God is our father!” Nuh-uh. Who’s their daddy? Jesus can tell, because he can see by their actions and by their words and by their lives what they’ve caught from him. Jesus has made it all too clear that their father is neither Abraham nor God, but is in fact the Devil himself. And what does He base that upon? Nothing other than the fact that their actions show them for being products of what they got taught and caught from their daddy the devil.
But that’s them . . . what about us? What about you? Who’s your daddy? When people see you on the street, or at your job, or at the Market . . . what kind of deeds do they see? When people look at you, can they see the deeds of the light that reflect God as your Father? . . . or would they see deeds of darkness? [showing sign] Remember: “You’re already a role model. The question is: What kind?”
Who’s your daddy? Is it God? Does it show?
If you were to look me in the eye and ask me that question, I could either lie to you or tell you the truth. If you expected an honest answer, I’d have to tell you, “No . . . no, I don’t think so.” If you expected an honest answer, I’d have to tell you that day by day by day I don’t think I do a very good job of showing the world what I’ve caught from my Father in Heaven. I fail . . . I fall . . . I sin . . . and more often than not, when you look at me, you can’t tell who my Daddy is.
Who’s your daddy? Is it God? Does it show?
You know what God says? . . . God says “Yes.”
God says “Yes” in Christ.
Colossians 2:13-15 says, “When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and the authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.”
Who’s your daddy? Is it God? Does it show?
God says “Yes” through His love.
I John 3:1 says, “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”
Who’s your daddy? Is it God? Does it show?
God says “Yes” in redemption.
Galatians 4:4 says, “But when the time had fully come, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under law, to redeem those under law, that we might receive the full rights of children. Because you are children, God sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” So you are no longer a slave, but a child; and since you are a child, God has made you also an heir.”
Who’s your daddy? Is it God? Does it show?
In Christ, God says “Yes.” In Christ, God says “Yes” to you, and He marks you for all to see as His own dear child, and calls you His own, and He makes you His own. In Christ, all that God has taught and that you have caught becomes reality. And so when those situations come up when you’re not sure whether or not you’ve got what it takes, when you don’t know if you’ve got the stuff to reflect God as your Father, when you fail, when you fall, when you sin, you have God’s promise that you are His precious child and He is constantly working to make that show.
[Showing sign] You’re already a role model. The question is: What kind? Go out and show them Whose you really are. A redeemed, forgiven, honest-to-goodness child of God. Happy Father’s Day.
