The Kendrick brothers have produced several top-quality, impactful, Christian-themed films, including Fireproof, Courageous, and Overcomer. This 2021 film, called Show Me the Father, is a documentary, but with no less quality and impact. It was shown in theatres, but I missed seeing it there.
This documentary is hosted by pastor and author Tony Evans. It does a great job of showing the importance of fathers. Some serious statistics are flashed on the screen that show the results of not having a father, such as the fact that 85% of prisoners are fatherless.
A major theme of the movie is that our earthly fathers are meant to be reflections of our loving Heavenly Father. The attributes of our Heavenly Father given in Scripture are discussed. The movie reminds us that a father should be a provider, a protector, a leader, a teacher, a helper, an encourager, and a friend.
Some fathers have not reflected our Heavenly Father at all. I was so surprised to hear the story of the tragic childhood of the current President of the Focus on the Family organization, Jim Daly. His own father, transformed by alcohol abuse, made a miserable existence for his mother and him and his siblings. They ended up fleeing from place to place. When his mother finally remarried later, her new husband turned out to be very cruel to the children. It was just another horrible experience. When finally Jim gained a relationship with his Heavenly Father, he was able to experience a loving relationship as a son. It’s a story worth seeing.
Many times another man can fill the role of a loving earthly father for those who didn’t have a loving father of their own. The movie shows the story of a great football coach who thought of his team members as his own sons. He wanted to teach them more than football, and he did.
The Bible tells us that our Heavenly Father adopts us as His children when we repent of our sins and believe in Christ’s death on the cross to pay for our sins. (Although some people say that all the inhabitants of the earth are God’s children, the Bible doesn’t teach that. See John 1:12 and Romans 8:14-17.) Adoptions of children by earthly fathers can be a great picture of God adopting His children. One of the Kendrick brothers shares the wonderful story of a child adopted into his own family.
Toward the end of the movie there is a story of an adopted son’s reunion with his real dad. The way it happened is truly unbelievable and had to have been orchestrated by God.
Following the reunion, there is a discussion of the blessings fathers pronounced over their children in Old Testament times. Video recordings are shown of the producers’ dad pronouncing beautiful blessings over his sons at very significant events in their lives. The Kendricks encourage all dads to say blessings over their children.
As a closing, there is a visual demonstration of not letting an earthly father who didn’t reflect our Heavenly Father distort our idea of our Heavenly Father. Watching this movie will provide 91 minutes of meaningful entertainment.
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