“‘Honor your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbor as yourself.’”
Matthew 19:19 (NIV)
Your Father
In 1883, the Canadian Government commissioned Robert Harris to paint the Charlottetown Conference of September 1864. The work was to include the 23 Fathers of Confederation, and secretary Hewitt Bernard. Asked to change the setting to the larger Quebec Conference of October that same year, Harris added ten figures. A preliminary charcoal sketch was made in Charlottetown, and the final work was painted in Montreal. In May 1884, it was hung in the Parliament Building in Ottawa. It was destroyed when the Parliament Building burned on February 3, 1916.
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Happy Father’s Day. In our world, dads often are the brunt of jokes and don’t always get the respect they deserve. The Bible paints a totally different picture. Fathers are honoured and God introduces Himself as Father. By so doing, God is respecting all who are dads. Jesus continues with this when He teaches His followers this, in Matthew 19:19: “’Honour your father and mother,’ and ‘love your neighbour as yourself.’” Part of our call to “love our neighbour” is to honour our parents. Good dads pour their lives into their children. They love their children and do all they can to see that they grow up to be productive members of society. Christian dads’ greatest desire is to see their children commit their lives to Jesus and desire to live for Him. In turn, children are called to honour those dads. You can do that by showing respect to your father. If you are an adult, spend time with him – he will appreciate it. Let him know what he means to you – don’t wait until his funeral to do so. On this Father’s Day, take time to honour him today.
These have been words from the heart.
Bob Beasley