There are a plethora of verses in the Bible about fathers. Some verses that talk about how to be a good father, others show how God established the platform for good parenting, and then, other Scripture that remind us how to honor fathers.
“Whoso curseth his father or his mother, his lamp shall be put out in obscure darkness.” (Proverbs 20:20)
“Hearken unto thy father that begat thee, and despise not thy mother when she is old.” (Proverbs 23:22)
“Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. 2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise.” (Ephesians 6:1-2)
Please notice that the LORD did not say to honor them when they earn your honor. There are fathers who, from the human perspective, deserve no honor at all, their parenting skills are poor, to say the least. God is the Judge of all. He will judge the father, but He will also judge the disobedient child. Our role in obedience to the Word of God is to “honor our fathers.” We simply honor our fathers and mothers because God said to honor them.
On this Father’s Day weekend, I want to honor my own father who has been with the LORD for a few years now. Thank you, Brother Dewey, for this opportunity.
My Dad, Joe McCullah, was born on Friday, January 24, 1919 in Aurora, Missouri. He lived to be 94 years old. Dad was a strong, loyal, knowledgeable (though never went beyond a 6th grade formal education) and loving man. Dad claimed to be 5’6” tall, but in many family photos, he stood very near to the height of my 5’2” wife. But his courage made him a man twice his size. In all that he was and did, he also had a great sense of humor. Dad could often be heard joining in at family sing-a-longs as he loved to sing country and western, a little Ray Charles, and some good old Gospel music. In my quiet moments thinking of him, I can still hear him busting forth a yodel with the old “Mule Skinner Blues”. His instrumental skill was limited to playing his harmonica.
Dad was a hard working man, and his work-ethic could not be matched. He instilled into me very young that if a man was going to pay me to work an hour; I owed him sixty minutes of uninterrupted hard work.
He loved creating things working with wood, including woodcarvings. And then, immediately after his retirement from being the best diesel mechanic the California oilfields ever had, Dad built a 1/16th scale working model of an oil rig and it was so natural looking it was used in a commercial depicting it as the real thing against a Nevada sunset. He sure was proud to display that during many Oil Shows. The manufacturer of the rig he modeled his after tried to buy it from him in the early 80’s for $50,000. However, he was having too much fun showing it off.
I sure miss my Dad, and love him. The best part is he knew I loved him and honored him. What about your own Dad? If he is still living, be sure to show godly honor in some way this weekend. Happy Father’s Day!
