Father May I

With the recent celebration of Fathers’ Day, I decided to pay tribute to fathers everywhere. The first Father I would like to honor is out heavenly Father. The part of the triune being that is called the Father is the example of the perfect father, a being that is filled with love and compassion beyond human understanding. A being that hears our every thought, knows our every need, and gives us the exact things we need and the instant that is best. The Father sent his Son to suffer, bear our sins and iniquities to the cross, and to die an agonizing death to pay the sin debt that we owe. We were enslaved by besetting sins with no way to purchase our freedom, yet this Father God had compassion and asked Jesus to die in our stead and then to rise to lay the pathway for our redemption and way to enter Heaven.

I would also like to honor my earthly father Edson Carl Beck and all of the fathers in our family. None of them were perfect, but I have learned much from them. Their culture and their beliefs have helped to shape me into a loving father. I am far from perfect, but God is still working on me daily. I strive to do his will in my life and am blessed to know his Son as my personal Savior.

I am thankful to my son Andrew and my sons-in-law, Eric Yoder and James E. Prinkey. Andrew and his wife Renee are raising their daughters in the nurture and admonition of a loving home. They share the love of God, the perfect Father with them. The girls, Celine and Moriah both are home schooled and enjoy making music on their violins. Both are creative and beautiful young ladies.

Eric and Amanda Yoder are raising their daughter Hannah with solid biblical teaching. I am so grateful that they are loving parents and teaching her biblical truths. Hannah loves to sing and is teaching herself to play the piano. They have more children waiting in heaven, lost before they could be born, but they are loved all the same.

James and Anna have the love in their hearts to be good parents. They’ve lost two children, miscarried from the womb. Their desire for children is unabated, but James is a father none-the-less. It is a place where love and grief intermingle.

So, to all of the fathers, I wish the recent Father’s Day was a special part of your lives.