13As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him;14for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust.15As for man, his days are like grass, he flourishes like a flower of the field;16the wind blows over it and it is gone, and its place remembers it no more.17But from everlasting to everlasting the LORD's love is with those who fear him, and his righteousness with their children's children--
God our Heavenly Father is full of love for each of us - He is longsuffering and does not cease to love us when we do not follow in His ways. As 2 Timothy says, even when we are faithless, He remains faithful. He has given us access to His wisdom, and as we continue to rely on Him, He will direct us in the challenging work of parenting.
In Ephesians 6, we see a verse that can provide a strong watchword for those of us who are fathers:
4And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
A poll caught my eye in yesterday's Montgomery Advertiser. The poll had asked USA Today readers to share who their favorite TV dad was. No surprise, and not even close - yes, you know the answer - Cliff Huxtable, played by Bill Cosby on The Cosby Show, with 42% of the vote. Al Bundy of Married With Children was a distant second. Word has it, by the way, that Cosby, the venerable actor, who is now in his mid-70's will be returning to television comedy.
Perhaps he has a desire to redeem the genre. The BrainyQuote website quotes Cosby as saying, "I think the part of media that romanticizes criminal behavior, things that a person will say against women, profanity, being gangster, having multiple children with multiple men and women and not wanting to is prevalent. When you look at the majority of shows on television they placate that kind of behavior."
He's right, you know, and from what I can tell, Cosby loved parenting. The same website quotes him as saying that, "Nothing I've ever done has given me more joys and rewards than being a father to my children."
About the American father: "If the new American father feels bewildered and even defeated, let him take comfort from the fact that whatever he does in any fathering situation has a fifty percent chance of being right."
"No matter how calmly you try to referee, parenting will eventually produce bizarre behavior, and I'm not talking about the kids. Their behavior is always normal."
And, finally, "Even though your kids will consistently do the exact opposite of what you're telling them to do, you have to keep loving them just as much."
Cosby can be deadly serious about some of the issues confronting our society today, but by mixing in his inimitable humor, perhaps it makes truth easier to swallow. And, perhaps sometimes we take ourselves too seriously. I do regard some of his "truth" to be consistent with Biblical truth - especially his outspokenness on moral behavior and personal responsibility.
All in all, Cosby has been very effective in helping people reflect on the importance of fathers. On The Cosby Show, he portrayed a strong and wise dad, albeit fallible. And, that's who we are as dads - we don't have all the answers, but we have access to answers, through the principles we find in God's Word.
And, we recognize that God our Heavenly Father is the perfect example to us - He doesn't give up on us when we do the "exact opposite" of what He tells us to do. He continues to love us unconditionally, and that serves us well as fathers - we have His capacity to love unconditionally.
Dads, realize who God has called you to be, how He has placed you in a very significant role and has equipped you to honor Him by the way you raise and relate to your children. And, each of us, where applicable, can make sure that we encourage and appreciate the dads in and around our lives.
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