Happy Father's Day! Have you ever thought about God's timetable and the (sometimes unglamorous?) missions he assigns us?
The very first recorded time God spoke to his prophet Hosea, in Hosea chapter 1, He told him to get married and have children. So he marries a woman, she gets pregnant, they have a son, and God names him. She gets pregnant again, and has a daughter. God names her. After the baby was weened (two years? three years? four?) she gets pregnant again and they have another son. God names that boy also, and begins to speak to Hosea at length. So this is three pregnancies and a weaning. So what is that-- four to seven years? During this time frame-- crying babies, sleepless nights ("Mommy? Mommy? Mommy? Mommy?"), it is only recorded that God spoke to his prophet on three occasions-- the birth of each child.
Why?
Because it was not yet his mission to be a prophet to the nations. His mission from God was TO LOVE THAT WOMAN AND BE A FATHER to their children. That was his mission. To Father those children and love their mother. No matter what. (Hosea 3:1.)
The scripture records another man who was given such a Fatherhood mission. His name was Joseph. He was engaged to a woman named Mary. But then she got pregnant. Even worse, the baby wasn't his! Disaster upon Disaster. But God told him to go ahead with the wedding, and God used him to protect that woman and that child-- God's OWN Son- from all dangers. This was his mission! To be a Father to that child, and to love that child's mother.
So you men out there-- are you a Father? Then you already have a mission from God, and it's a worthy one. Father them. Do you love a woman who comes with kids from a previous relationship? They're your kids too now. Father them.
Do you have a "calling from God" on your life? Not sure? What if this is it? Could it be, that like Joseph, God's primary calling on your life is to be a father to those children-- maybe even another man's children, and to love their mother? And those children will go on to do incredible things? (Hat tip to all the wonderful fathers I know who married a woman who already came with children, or who adopted/fostered new kids along the way. Instant family. Men like Michael Holliday, Jonathan Kalkan, Gabriel Holliday, Jeff Hughes, David Sage, Zayden Weinert, Butch Mills, Neil E. Hurley, and Tim Brinkmeyer. You guys are my heroes.) What a mission!
Happy Father's Day.
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