All About Father
Weekly devotional by Barbara Sanders

Hebrews 12:9 Furthermore we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits, and live?

Sunday is another day we pay tribute to our fathers. Many of our fathers aren't with us any longer, but they are still in our memories. I can remember my father very vividly, although he went to be with the Lord ten years ago this year. We always went to see him on Father's Day, and he always enjoyed getting a gift, but always said, 'You didn't have to do that'. I was, just the other day, looking at some old pictures that were taken just a couple weeks before his death. There he is kissing and hugging my first two grandchildren, who were only small then, at the age of two and a half and fifteen months. He loved those children as though they were his own. They were his pride and joy! I knew he enjoyed those times with the kids and making memories that last forever.

Within the Bible, there are many stories of 'fathers' and their children. Noah took his children and their families on to the Ark with him, so they would not be destroyed by the flood. Abram was called 'the father of many nations' by God, and his name was changed to Abraham. Abraham took Issac, his son, to be sacrified upon the altar, in obedience to God. Yet God supplied Abraham with a sacrificial Lamb, because of Abraham's obedience to Him. God told Abraham that he would be blessed and multiplied, and all his seed would be blessed throughout the nations.

Our heavenly Father is to be given a tribute as well. Without Him, all of us would be lost. He chose to share His only SON, JESUS, with the world, that we may be forgiven for our sins, and receive eternal life with Him. Our earthly father can do many things for his children, but, unlike God, he can only go with each of them as far as the grave. He doesn't have the ability to 'save' or 'forgive our sins'. He helps guide us on the straight and narrow path in life, but can't make us live a holy life. Only through the Father, can we have the power it takes to live a clean, holy life.

Heavenly Father, we pay tribute to our fathers on Father's Day on earth. But we also pay tribute to our Heavenly Father, in that, without you, we would be lost, without hope in this life. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen.