I'm not sure how much longer Father's Day can continue to be a thing in our current culture.
Sure, the marketing gurus will be loathed to give up another opportunity to hawk their wares in an attempt to get us to spend more money on things we probably don't need. And schools will miss the fundraising opportunity of coercing parents to buy their own child's art on a coffee mug, tea towel or other useless knickknack.
But now there is increasing pressure to refer to parents with non-gendered labels like 'birthing parent' replacing mothers and... well they're yet to come up with an acceptable label to replace the father's input into the creation of a child that isn't gross. Couple this with the increasing attacks on 'maleness' and the erosion of gender, it is hard to see how Father's Day can continue to be socially acceptable much longer.
We could also add into this discussion the real and painful mess that a lot of fathers have made of their lives and their families and we might feel like there is not much left to be celebrated!
But despite our culture and our sin the Bible shows us a better way for fathers to live and to love their families that doesn't involve renouncing their gender and abandoning fatherhood all together.
In Ephesian 6:1-4 the Apostle Paul gives us a brilliant mini-theology of fatherhood. These verses come in a larger section that shows us how God's people everywhere can enjoy transformed relationships as part of his redeemed family.
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honour your father and mother’– which is the first commandment with a promise – ‘so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the earth.’
Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
In a nutshell, Paul calls on dads to maintain purposeful involvement in the lives of their children.
Some of us might be surprised to see that Paul addresses dad (not mum) as the point person for a child's upbringing. This is probably a nod to the sad reality that many dads are willing to abdicate their responsibilities confident that mum will take up their slack. But according to Paul, dad must be involved, willingly and joyfully engaged in the lives of their children.
Secondly, their presence is not reactive but purposeful. 'Bringing them up in the training and instruction of the Lord' speaks to intentionality rather than simply waiting for opportunities. Praying, reading the Bible, talking about the things of God, asking interested questions, modelling to them mercy, grace and forgiveness are all ways we can be purposeful towards the goal of having kids who grow up to know and love Jesus.
And in a very small way, this ought to be a mirror to us of the much greater fatherhood of God. Our Heavenly Father who purposefully involved himself in our world so that we might be saved through the death of his Son, Jesus.
Grace & peace,
Andrew