Imitating Father
Our four year old grandson has a toy set of tools that he uses. His dad may be working on something, and he gets his hammer and screwdriver out and goes through the motions of imitating his father. It is a precious sight to see father and son working together.
Our children see us doing things, and as they do, they want to do them, too. When they are small, they want to be just like dad. To me, this is a wonderful compliment to a father. But what an awesome responsibility it is as well.
When we look at the Scriptures and see God the Father, we know that His Son, Jesus, was just like Him in every way. In the gospel of John 10:30, we read, “I and the Father are one.” (NASB) Later, as Jesus was letting everyone know that He and the Father were one, Philip, His apostle asked Him to show them the Father. Jesus answered, “... Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, 'Show us the Father?'” John 14:9
Just like a child wants to be like his father, we should desire to be like our heavenly Father. When we look and see Jesus, we can know what His Father is like.
Jesus was compassionate toward the people He interacted with. Consider Him as He saw the multitudes that followed Him. They had been with Him many days and had nothing to eat. Jesus fed the 5,000 (Matthew 14) and later the 4,000 (Matthew 15) so they would not faint on their way to find food. He saw a widow in Nain who had lost her only son, and He looked on her with compassion and raised him from the dead (Luke 7).
Jesus was loving, tenderhearted, giving, caring, and the list of positive things continues on. As we read through the gospels, we are reminded of all the good things He did while on earth.
We are called upon to be like Christ in our lives. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.” I want to be like Jesus, do you? And yet there are times I fail miserably. But I know that if I am truly repentant in my life and willing to change, the Father will forgive me.
As Father’s Day approaches, each one of us who are fathers need to show our children what Jesus looks like. After all, your children are following in your steps, being like them. Are you leading them to the Father of heaven and earth?