For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
Ephesians 2:10
July 16 is Father’s Day. Will you celebrate this day with joy or will you have mixed emotions about the day? These special days can be complicated for some people because of painful upbringings and difficult family backgrounds, but they don’t have to be. Consider this story:
There was once a little boy who had a hard time growing up, because every place he went, he was always asked, “Hey boy, who's your daddy?” Whether he was at school, in the grocery store or drug store, people would ask the same question, “Who's your daddy?” He would hide at recess and lunchtime from other students. He would avoid going into stores because that question hurt him so much.
When he was about 12 years old, a new preacher came to his church. He would always go in late and slip out early to avoid hearing the question, "Who's your daddy?" But one day, the new preacher said the benediction so fast, the boy got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. Just about the time he got to the back door, the new preacher, not knowing anything about the young man, put his hand on his shoulder and asked him, "Son, who's your daddy?"
The whole church got deathly quiet. He could feel every eye in the church looking at him. Now everyone would finally know the answer to the question, "Who's your daddy?"
The new preacher, though, sensed the situation around him and using discernment that only the Holy Spirit could give, said the following to the scared little boy. "Wait a minute! I know who you are. I see the family resemblance now. You are a child of God." With that he patted the boy on his shoulder and said, "Boy, you've got a great inheritance. Go and claim it."
The boy smiled for the first time in a long time and walked out the door a changed person. He was never the same again. Whenever anybody asked him, "Who's your Daddy?" he'd just tell them, “I'm a child of God." By faith, we too are children of God, no matter what our pasts dictate. So let us go out there and do our Father’s business, just as Jesus did before us. Let us treat those we encounter as children of God. You never know what kind of past they may be dealing with. Perhaps you can remind them who they are in Christ Jesus. AMEN!