While recently watching the emotional and enlightening movie called “The Case for Christ,” I saw the subject of fathers come up.  It’s the story of Lee Strobel, who set out to prove to his wife that Jesus wasn’t really the Son of God. A journalist at the time, he interviewed a psychologist in his quest for confirmation that the testimonies of those who claimed to have seen Jesus alive after His death could have been the results of hallucinations. The psychologist, played by Faye Dunaway, explained the impossibility of such a notion and perceived that Lee had a negative view of his father. She said that atheist leaders were known to be lacking a good father figure.

 At a website located at probe.org, there is an article called “Atheists and Their Fathers.” It’s based upon a book called Faith of the Fatherless, by Paul Vitz. It states that leading atheists of the world have a common thread: their fathers were “either dead, abusive, weak, or had abandoned the children.”

I know God isn’t dead. The Holy Spirit often speaks to me personally by bringing to life the words of the Bible or a song about God in an unexplainable way, which confirms what Jesus promised His followers in John 14:26.

I know God isn’t abusive. His holy nature caused Him to bring punishment on man when man chose to violate the one restriction He gave. But because of His great love, He sent His Son Jesus to die for our sins so that He could pardon those who believe in Jesus from the eternal punishment His holiness demands, as explained in John 3:16.

I know God isn’t weak. I only need to look at our amazing universe and our extremely complex human bodies that He spoke into existence by His power. Romans 1:20 plainly states that.

And I know God never abandons His children. John 1:12 says that “to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God.” Addressed to believers, or the children of God, Hebrews 13:5 tells us that “God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”

I’m grateful that I had a father who made it easy to believe that a strong, loving Heavenly Father does exist. My dad always worked very hard to provide for our family. For a while he even took on a Saturday job to bring in a little more needed income. In addition to that, at one point he remodeled a larger home into which we had moved. He was a “Jack of all trades.” He did the carpentry, the wiring, and the plumbing. He fixed the cars, too. Of course that was before cars had computerized parts that limit what can be repaired without a dealer’s special equipment. Dad was also very good-natured. Although he wasn’t particularly gifted musically, he would sometimes sing the first line of a song, such as, “Singing I go along life’s road . . .” Things weren’t always rosy for Dad, as the breadwinner of the family. But he seemed to be trusting in his Heavenly Father to help get us through.There were times when there were reasons for discouragement–times when a sold business, a change in headquarters location, and a union strike led to a period of unemployment. It wasn’t always easy to keep singing, but the words of that song seemed to be the motto of his life. You can hear the song by clicking on the video below.

There was no doubt in my mind about my dad’s relationship with God. He took us to church every Sunday and held various jobs in the church over the years. At different times he was a deacon, a superintendent for the Primary Sunday School Department, an altar counselor, and a prayer team volunteer. He worked on stage preparation for Christmas and Easter events in later years and served as an usher for many years. Of course sometimes people fool others about their lack of a real relationship with God by what they do in the church, but the best evidence of his love for God was his interest in studying the Bible and his fervent prayers when no one from the outside was watching. His honesty and integrity, his kindly style of conversation, and his unselfish behavior were further evidence of his genuine devotion to God. For his memorial service I wrote that “he was the same man Monday through Saturday that he was on Sunday. He was ‘the real thing.’ ”As the “icing on the cake,” so to speak, Dad had a good sense of humor. He liked reading jokes. Sometimes he would copy a joke and put it in his suit pocket, then give it to the pastor.

When we are children, we need guidance and help from our parents. Our adorable two-year-old grandson, going through his independent “I do it” stage, likes to help pour his favorite cereal, help drizzle on some honey, and help pour milk over it. One day he suddenly decided he would pour the milk on all by himself. He picked up the little pint bottle of whole milk I had bought specially for him and dumped the large amount remaining on his cereal all at once. Needless to say, there was a bit of a mess. I didn’t need to say much. I just remember saying, “Uh-oh.” I may have added, “Better let Grandma help next time.” He knew his independent move had been a big mistake. The next time he was content just to put his hand on mine and “help.”

Likewise, for those of us who have been adopted as God’s children through faith in Christ, God wants to give us the guidance we need. When we attempt to run our lives all on our own, we can make a mess of things. We need to ask for His guidance in every area of our lives. Proverbs 3:5-6 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” Reading the Bible and applying it to our lives and learning to be sensitive to the inner voice of the Holy Spirit are ways we can submit to Him. I believe my dad had learned that principle.

Dad loved Christian music. I think one of his favorite songs was “How Great Thou Art.” “How Great Thou Art” came into being when a poem written by Carl Gustav Boberg in 1885 was set to a traditional Swedish melody. A missionary by the name of Stuart K. Hine translated it into English and added more verses. The English translation was made famous in America in 1957 by George Beverly Shea singing it at the Billy Graham Crusades. You can find more of the interesting story of “How Great Thou Art” at the website of christianitytoday.com.  According to the list of “The 25 Most Popular Christian Hymns” on the website of unlockingthebible.org, “How Great Thou Art” is #2, right behind “Amazing Grace.” In the latter years of Dad’s life, the music of the Bill Gaither Homecoming group was a great blessing to Dad. You can experience a stirring rendition of “How Great Thou Art” by clicking on the video I have embedded below, which was recorded with hundreds of voices directed by Bill Gaither on the deck of a ship cruising through scenic Alaska.

Scriptures taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. TM Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com  The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.TM