June 16

 Exodus 20:12 — Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

I never had a relationship with my father. He was in the military while I was a toddler, and by my early teens he had left my mother with a young family of four to raise. It wasn’t easy, not for any of us although, like many a youngster I was oblivious to a lot of what Mom was dealing with. Later I was resentful of a lot of things. Later still I began to see it wasn’t so straightforward.
Over the years, and especially since becoming a Christian, I have come to know that fatherlessness — the father wound — is very common, and sadly is becoming almost normal in America today. Indeed, after the decline of the Christian faith itself, it might be that this break in the family is the greatest weakness the country is struggling with. I know many men like myself who had no relationship with their fathers. Sadly, too, I know many fathers who feel they have — literally or metaphorically — abandoned their sons. But I have a grain of hope …
Search the Bible. How many really good role models are there for Fathers? They’re hard to find! Look at this list:

• Adam — eldest son killed his brother.
• Jacob — sons plotted to kill their brother, and then sold him into slavery.
• Eli — sons were such a disgrace, the family lost the priesthood.
• Manoah — Samson … Need I say more?
• David — one son raped his sister, and another rebelled against his father.
• Solomon (the wisest man ever!) — raised a son who was such a fool that nine parts of the kingdom were torn away from him.

If your relationship with your father, or your son, isn’t all it should be, you are not alone! But there is a role model. There is one Father, who never failed His Son, nor was ever failed by Him. That Son honored His Father. The Hebrew word for “honor” is kabed. It is about weight — to “honor” is to give weight to someone, to give importance, respect, consideration and value. God was delighted in His Son — “Thou art my beloved Son, in Thee I am well pleased”. Jesus supremely honored His Father — “not my will, but thine”.
It’s not easy — but try it. If you are a father, tell your son of your delight in him. If you’re a son, let your father know of the respect and value you place in him.
I have come to see some great things in my father. He gave me the gift of intelligence, and humor and a willing tongue. He couldn’t, in the end, carry the weight placed on him. But then, neither can I, unless my Father’s Son carries the greater part of the burdens.
God bless you Dad. I honor you.