The Father's Blessing

By Randy Knapp

I would give everything I have for a father who loved me. I would pay any price to have a father who was proud of me. I could do anything for a father who believed in me. I could conquer the world for a father who said of me, “This is my son with whom I am well pleased.”

My father was a godly man, but he died when I was eleven, and his loss left an empty place in my heart. In many ways, I am still that eleven-year-old boy, but now I live in a 49-year-old body. Even now, I crave the touch of my father’s hand on my shoulder, and I yearn to hear the music of his voice as he pronounces those words of blessing over me.

The need for affirmation from the one we admire and respect is the most important factor that fuels our future. Without that blessing, men flounder.
I’ve heard it said of God that,

He will become a “father to the fatherless.” Psalm 68:5,

He is “the helper of the fatherless.” Psalm 10:18,

He will “defend the poor and fatherless.” Psalm 82:3,

“God sent [Jesus] . . . so that He could adopt us as His very own children.” Galatians 4:5

“His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into His own family by bringing us to Himself through Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 1:5

Almost every man I know bears a wound inflicted either by the presence or the absence of his father. We are wounded men searching for healing. One of our greatest fears is that we will inflict similar wounds on our own children. We understand that it is a blessing our children seek from us, but we fear we are unable to give it. We worry that we give a curse instead.

If God can foster a father/son relationship as our true heavenly Father, it will restore hope to our future. If He can show us how to be godly fathers, maybe we can receive our cherished blessing and pass it on to our children.

Jesus encourages us to remain optimistic. “You fathers—if your children ask for a fish, do you give them a snake instead? Or if they ask for an egg, do you give them a scorpion? Of course not! If you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?” John 11:11-13

In the two verses previous to those above, Jesus reassures worried fathers: “And so I tell you, keep on asking, and you will be given what you ask for. Keep on looking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And the door is opened to everyone who knocks.”

I’m confident that the yearning we feel is influenced by the Holy Spirit. I’m also confident that help is in our midst. Our fear of failure may make us cautious, but if we remain connected to God our reward is certain.

We search because we understand the stakes. In feeling the absence of the blessing, we confirm the reality of that which we seek. The blessing awaits. When we get it, we’ll be able to pass it on to our children.

God did not place us on this earth to live mediocre lives. He did not set us up so we would fail. God created us to gain from life its fullest measure, and to extend that blessing to those we love.

For those of us who fear our inadequacies as fathers, it is only poor eyesight that is to blame. Long ago the future was clearly laid out before us, and success is hidden only by a thin mist. God has blazed the trail before us in the record of the lives of men who have peopled history. Godly men have demonstrated how to bestow the blessing. Men who have turned their backs on God have shown us what to watch out for. God will show us what to do as we read about their examples.

Two disciples were confused and bewildered and walking together on the road to Emmaus. Recent events had turned their world upside down and they no longer had any confidence in the direction of their lives. They were well versed in the Scriptures, but they no longer knew what was true. They needed a guide to show them where they’d gone wrong. A man approached them walking along the road. After they had explained their confusion to Him, He smiled and began to lead them back through the Scriptures with which they were so familiar. With Him as their instructor, comprehension flooded their minds.

The understanding that will guide us into becoming the men and fathers we long to be isn’t far away. The Teacher waits patiently at the doors of our hearts to open a whole new world of fulfillment to our eyes. The Father’s reassuring hand of blessing is poised above our shoulders. The table is already set for the feast of celebration. The blessing is ours.

Our children long for the same blessing we crave. Let’s do whatever it takes to meet that need. Let’s become the fathers we wish we had.

Randy writes from Medford, Oregon knappsnest@msn.com