The Love of the Father

Mark 4:26-34

Once upon a time, a man became a father. It happened in the usual way: he loved his wife very much and God blessed them with a child.

I don’t know if he intended to become a father or not, but that doesn’t matter. Some people try very hard to have a child and are disappointed. Others have no intention of becoming parents and SURPRISE! Which just goes to show you, it really isn’t up to them in the first place.

Any way, one way or the other, the man became a father and since he was a good and loving man when he saw his baby he was delighted and welcomed the responsibility.

By the way, I don’t know whether the baby was a boy or a girl or whether the father had been hoping for a son or a daughter. But that doesn’t matter. Maybe he wanted a boy to play catch with and take fishing and maybe he wanted a daughter who would be as pretty as her mother, but whatever he wanted, he got what he got, because, of course, it wasn’t really up to him in the first place.

And any way, what he got was his baby and he loved the baby because it was his and he had high hopes for the baby.

I don’t know what sort of hopes he had, but that really doesn’t matter. Maybe he dreamed that his child would grow up to be president or maybe he hoped that his child would grow up to follow in his own footsteps. Either way, he knew in his heart of hearts that the child would follow his/her own path. Because it really wasn’t up to him.

And any way, whatever the future held for his child, he wanted that future to be full of happiness and he wanted that child to be strong, and healthy and the best that he/she could be and to that end, the man resolved to be a good father.

Actually, I don’t know exactly what the man meant by that, I’m not even sure how I’d define a good father. Maybe he thought a good father was someone who provided well for his family, and maybe he thought a good father was someone who was there for his children. Maybe he thought fathers should be disciplinarians and maybe he thought fathers should be loving and accepting, but that really doesn’t matter. Children benefit from both kinds of fathers and no father can quite be everything to his child. We all just do the best we can, and in the end, all parents have to hope that God will make up for the parts we aren’t so good at. Because, in the end, it really isn’t up to us

Our children sprout and grow, and we don’t really know how.

In the end, all fathers can do is plant the seed, love the little sprout and pray - a lot.

Once upon a time, a man planted a seed. It happened it the usual way: he loved his neighbor and he loved God and so naturally, he talked to his friends about the thing that gave him joy. He told them the good news: that God was love; and that sins could be forgiven; and that life could be abundant; and that death could be defeated.

I don’t know whether that man intended to convert a new Christian, but that really doesn’t matter, because that really wasn’t up to him

Any way, one way or the other, the man planted a seed, and because he was a good man and because he loved the God who loved him, and because the good news had meant so much to him, he was delighted to have the chance to tell someone else. He welcomed the responsibility and he hoped that what he said would make a difference in the lives of his friends

I don’t know what sort of difference he had in mind, but that really doesn’t matter. Maybe he hoped that they would join his church or maybe he hoped that they would get to heaven, or maybe he hoped that their lives would be richer and fuller or just more peaceful and free from guilt and fear, but he knew that really wasn’t up to him. His friends might reject what he had to say, or they might ponder it for years before they took it to heart, or they might become great disciples of the Lord.

Any way, whatever he hoped would come of his words, he wanted his neighbor’s life to be full of happiness and joy, because he knew that was what God wanted for each of God’s children. So the man wanted his neighbor to be strong, and healthy and the best that he/she could be, and to that end, the man resolved to be a good neighbor, whether his friends became Christians or not.

Because in the end, that really isn’t up to us. New Christians sprout and grow, and we don’t really know how. In the end, all we can do is plant the seed, love the little sprout and pray - a lot.

Copyright © 1997

This page hosted by Get your own Free Home Page