Sermons

Heir Conditioners

Father's Day and Mother's Day make one wonder about the whole idea of having to set aside a day to remind us of our mother or father. One would suspect that there would be no need for a one day "shot in the arm" concern and love for our parents if we were to provide a kind of viable long term solution to honour our father and our mother that our days may be long upon the land which the Lord our God has given us" (Exodus 20:12 paraphrased). The ancient saying" every dog has his day" make this seem so profane because the scripture says to honour our parents, it does not say to set aside one day a year to honour one or the other.

So why do we celebrate? We celebrate because God in His wisdom and grace has created us his children, his heir, who have all been "fathered" and "mothered", who go on to be father or mother to someone else. He has promised us a common inheritance - the common Kingdom of God, but we tend to overlook the sacredness of this celebration of "honour" which is a continual process from generation to generation making us all "heir conditioners".

During this Father's day celebration part of what makes it so memorable is the perfect example of fatherhood which God has given us - God the Father loves his heirs and does so much for us - He protects, He equips, He chastens, he disciplines us, and has given us eternal life through the sacrifice of his only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, on Calvary.

So how does this speak to the family relationship of earthly fathers? Does this not mean that fatherhood is a process in which there is suffering and glory, death and resurrection, woven together in Christ in such a way that it embraces the totality of the Christian life both now and in eternity? fatherhood is not a joy suddenly realizing that somehow or the other one has helped to bring up an heir he can be proud of and who is proud and concerned about him? Fatherhood is basically a long battle to make a dependant independent. It is a steady battle to keep the next generation independent. It has been said that not only the sins of the father visit upon the children, but nowadays the sins of the children, are visited upon the father. There is also a saying "the child is father of a man."

On this Happy Father's Day, a day of honour and celebration, let us make every effort to do a little more for, and with our children who will in turn do a little bit more for, and with, us. May we remember God wants the best for us, the heirs of his Kingdom and he has given us the conditional love of Christ to be "heir conditioners."

My dear Christian friends, as the heirs of God then we and our children are fellow heirs. This should make us focus on the connectedness of each of us and the need to lift up others that are down; strengthen the feeble and weak; make straight the paths of those who are lost; follow peace with all persons; look diligently lest anyone should fall out of grace of God, and be diligent lest any root of bitterness springing up defiles us.