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I have a confession to make. Mother’s Day and Father’s Day sermons are extremely hard for me to write. Not because I had a bad Mother or Father - nothing could be further from the truth. I had wonderful parents. But because I know that many children go through life without the benefit of having both parents living in the home with them.

When I think about Father’s Day I am reminded of Bart Starr, the Greenbay Packers’ great quarterback, who tells of the time he came home in a foul mood. He burst angrily into the house, yelled at one of his children, spanked another one, and snarled at his wife for not mailing some letters.

His wife asked him what was the matter.

He shouted that he was busy, busy, busy. "I’ve got a jillion things to do," he complained. And he wasn’t getting them done. He told her he had to go to a banquet that night in Appleton.

She asked what kind of a banquet.

Bart, still upset by his various commitments, barked irritably, "I’m receiving a nice-guy award."

I think Stephanie would tell you that's how I act sometimes!

This morning’s message is NOT a message of condemnation but one of Hope! One of Comfort! One of Encouragement! A reminder of the abounding Grace of God which comes to us through His Son, Jesus the Christ.

At the beginning of this decade David Popenoe wrote an article entitled "A World Without Fathers." He gave some rather depressing statistics then: In just three decades, from 1960-1990, the percentage of children living apart for their biological father has more than doubled, from 17% to 36%. It is now estimated that by the turn of the century, 50% of all American children may go to bed at night without being able to speak to their father.

Every morning in Mecklenburg and Stanly Counties, more than 45,000 children wake up in a home with just one parent there to help them prepare for the day. Most of those children are in homes without fathers, as 88 percent of those homes are led by moms - good, loving, and nurturing moms. Moms who have to become both Mom AND Dad to their children.

In our World today, we have an epidemic of so called "fathers" who physically, financially, emotionally, and or spiritually abandon their children.

Being a father, or a mother for that fact, is not neat and easy, and there are difficult decisions to be made. One thing about parenting I have learned is that children do not come into this world with an operator’s manual. Parenting is often a "learn as you go" journey. The solutions that seem the best often are not. And I certainly feel for God because even the best people he could find, Abraham and Sarah, managed to mess up God’s plans. I just wonder how much we complicate God's plans for our children?

The Genesis story carries forward the career of Abraham. Here we see Abraham as absent father. In a sense, Abraham was willing to sacrifice both his sons. Ishmael and Hagar he sent into the wilderness to what Abraham as well as Hagar probably saw as certain death. He simply sent them away. Abraham was not a presence in the life of Ishmael. Later he will take Isaac up the mountain to offer him.

By contrast, in the Matthew passage, we find God the Father present in the person of Christ the Son teaching us about the nature of godly fatherhood!

So what is the message for us today? That God is a Father to the fatherless.

Jesus’ words highlight three functions of fatherhood, and by extension, of all parenthood.

First - God cares for his children. We can see that in Jesus’ presence which demonstrates God’s care for us. Jesus on the Cross shows the dimensions of that care or love. "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son." God’s eye is on the sparrow." Likewise, every hair of every child’s head is known.

God’s caring leads to knowing. Psalm 139, for example, speaks of the intimacy with which our Heavenly Father knows us:

The Psalmist writes: "O LORD, you have searched me and known me. You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways.

Even before a word is on my tongue, O LORD, you know it completely. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me.

Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast."

An old Italian proverb says "We are not as close to God as He is to us." Imagine that! God knows everything there is to know about us. He loves us. No matter what - He loves us! That’s what true love is all about! Far too many people feel that love is an emotion or a feeling. I’ll ask couples in pre-marital counseling "Why do you want to get married?" 99 of 100 times the answer is "Because we love each other." But how do you know you love each other?" "Because we feel it in our hearts." And then I lower the BOOM! "Do you realize that love is not a feeling? Love is a verb. It is something we either choose to do or we choose not too. For example: Even when my wife may NOT feel like it, (and Lord knows I have given here plenty of occasions) she chooses to continue to love me."

That’s the way it is with God. If God wanted too, could He choose NOT to love us? Well - being that He is God I think the answer is yes. But the reality is that God always loves us. He cares for every need of our lives. We may feel like no one cares or loves us, but God does both.

"Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father."

Sparrows were very common birds in the days of Jesus. They were used for food by the poor. Sparrows were sold very cheaply–less than one-half a cent each. You could get two sparrows for one penny. However, if you spent two cents you could get a bargain–four sparrows and an extra sparrow thrown in. That’s how little value sparrows had. Jesus uses this simple illustration from every day life to make a profound point about the loving care of the heavenly Father. He’s saying that even this little, forgotten sparrow that’s thrown into the deal is precious to God. "If God cares so much for that sparrow, then just try to imagine how much God cares for each of you," is what Jesus is saying.

Many people today feel or are made to feel that they are as worthless as that little sparrow. They don’t matter! They’re nobodies! Perhaps most of us have felt like that at some time. We all need to be reminded that we do matter. We are not faceless, nameless beings in a vast universe.

Jesus, our greatest authority on God, tells us that God knows and cares for us as individuals. God even knows how many hairs we have on our head!

God’s caring leads to knowing. You’ve heard me say before that there is not one solitary thing in our lives that God does NOT know about.

God knows when we are hurting. God knows when we are sad. God knows if we are lonely. God knows if we are frustrated. God is omniscient which means He knows it all.

Just as God’s caring leads us to knowing, so also God’s knowing leads to showing.

Love by its nature expresses itself, communicates itself. "God so loved…that he gave…."

Great as may be the love of human parents and child, that greatness rests upon the love of the Ultimate Father, shown to the disciples in the person of Jesus Christ.

Therefore Jesus can take away our breath with his assertion, "Whoever loves father or mother…son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me."

You don’t know how to really love your children or anyone else until you know the love of Jesus. The love of Jesus is an unending love. The love of Jesus is a sacrificial love. The love of Jesus is an unconditional love. What Jesus is saying to you and I this morning is that if we want to give real love we must love Him first.

This bold and forthright ranking of spiritual values and priorities above earthly values grounds the parent-child relationship in absolute integrity. In this way, human relationships become more than interpersonal encounters. They become eternal.

It follows that the most valuable gift a parent can help a child attain is a vital faith life. Equipped with that, a child can master anything in life. Equipped with that, a child will overcome peer pressure which often leads them in the wrong direction.

There are those who sit and listen to sermons on these special days who have never known parenthood. Yet wither you realize it or not you have been a surrogate parent to many children. You have provided a godly example for them to see and follow.

John Oxenham has said:
"Blessed are the childless, loving children still;
Theirs shall be a mightier family—-even as the stars of heaven."

God is not a Father who quits loving a child. God is NOT a Father who will ever abandon a child. God is omnipresent. He is in every place. Remember the Psalmist’s words?

"Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence?"

When I began this sermon I did a song that I had written about children. I shared with you the name of the song. Now let me tell you Brian's story. It's a true story about a young boy who was emotionally and physically abused.

Back in the good days of the Southern Baptist Convention I was asked by the Home Mission Board if I'd be willing to go through training to be a Youth Evangelist. I agreed and packed my bags to head to the beach where the training was to take place.

Everyday we would spend time handing our tracts to youth and inviting them to Bible Study.

On Friday evening we had a giant worship service and over 200 youth made decisions for Jesus!!!!

We took those who had made decisions to the back with 5 in a group for counseling.

I would ask the group this question: "Tell me your first name and tell me what Jesus did for you today."

I will never forget one child. He was blonde headed - had the biggest brownest eyes I've ever seen. This is what he said:

"My name is Brian. My sister and I are here because our Daddy doesn't want us at home. See - Daddy drinks a lot and when he drinks he yells and hits. My sissy and I lock ourselves in the bathroom because we are scared.

At that moment tears began to fall from that little guy's eyes (and mine too!) and his lower lip began to quiver as he said:

Tonight I learned that even though my Daddy doesn't love me - Jesus does." Those words - THAT knowledge ought to bring comfort, hope, and encouragement to every one of us this morning. Today I want to extend the invitation in this manner:

Put all your trust in God. Trust Him with the tough stuff in your life. Look to Him for guidance. Go to God with all the concerns and difficulties of your life. God CARES for you! God LOVES you! God KNOWS you! God will NEVER abandon you! God will NEVER let you down! And with God as your Heavenly Father the ETERNAL outlook is OUT OF THIS WORLD!

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