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On Father's day, we honor our dads and father figures for having major roles in our lives, but this Father's Day, why not take it a step further?
"If you have seen me, you've seen the Father" (John 14:9).

We have many different levels of relationships in our lives. There are people we look up to, like fathers, teachers, pastors, or bosses who have influence in our lives, and are deserving of our respect and appreciation. I call these upward relationships.

Then we have parallel relationships with people on a peer level, where we feel like equals and make memories together. We do not compete with each other, we do not stress each other out. This relational level is where iron sharpens iron and we all grow together.

But there is another level of relating to others that—outside of family or the workplace—we may not consider to be all that important. But in today's world, this type of relationship is vital to our future and the moral fabric of our society.

I'm talking about mentoring relationships. You need to be mentoring someone, because without someone to mentor, you lack a level of responsibility that causes you to rise to the occasion, stretch yourself, and model leadership. Others will be better off if we can help impart to them and give them what we know.

Be A Father To The Fatherless
On Father's day, we honor our dads and father figures for having major roles in our lives, but this Father's Day, why not take it a step further?

Find a neighbor, church member, niece or nephew or just someone who needs a father and spend some time with them. One of the best gifts you could give is an investment in time and attention to someone who is feeling fatherless.

Samuel Osherson, in his book The Passions of Fatherhood, states that a lot of what our fathers instilled in us stems from our feeling seen and heard and valued when we spent time with them.

The memories I treasure most of my father are the walks we took, playing catch in the yard, and just sitting in our basement family room watching baseball on a Saturday afternoon. This is where I could ask questions, give my opinions, and discuss topics that ranged from sports to money to girls to anything.

Many times I would end up being the only kid around because my two brothers and two sisters would all take off with their friends and activities, whereas I would be completely satisfied with hanging around the house. This illustrates the simple importance of availability; we were both at the same place at the same time.

It was during these times that I felt connected with my dad. We were not building a shed, but a relationship. We were not hunting animals but discovering each other's thoughts and interests. My closeness to my dad was crafted during these times of just sharing the same space doing ordinary, everyday things

In the society we live in today, time together is so scarce that we try to create a "wow factor" in every moment spent together with family and loved ones. This means everything revolves around breathtaking activities like shows, sports events, theme parks, and eating at entertainment-oriented restaurants.

But for me, I'm spending time with my grandson now to learn to be creative in the smallest things and to enjoy the simple aspects of everyday life. Sometimes we go to the water park, but a lot of times we are watching ants build an anthill, trying to catch birds with a homemade box trap in the backyard, or throwing pine cones in the drainage ditch next to our house (it's a Texas thing!).

It is in the time spent together that makes all the difference: talking, listening, and sharing your life with someone else.

Revealing God's Love
Part of communicating the love of God, the Father, is just drawing out of others the reality of who they are, and appreciating them. Jesus showed us the Father; maybe we can show the Father to someone else who does not know Who that is. You will not have to look far to find someone.

And as you reveal the Father's love to someone else, you will find that giving out to others causes you to grow exponentially!

Copyright © Nordyke Ministries All rights reserved.

Author Biography

Spencer Nordyke
Web site: Nordyke Ministries
 
Spencer grew up in Grand Rapids, Michigan and moved to Texas at the age of 17. He loves helping people meditate through the Word of God to so they can unlock God’s destiny for their lives. He has been playing guitar for years and loves to take people into the presence and glory of God.
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