"I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase"
1 Corinthians 3:6
A Message From the Horne of Africa
"Hey, Dad, I Love You!"
6/21/2009
Though there are many things wrong with this mixed-up old world, there are also some great advances in human love and interaction. At one time, it wasn't kosher to express human emotions and give "warm fuzzies." Fortunately, we have moved away from that frosty, cold, stiffly-formal age when it wasn't "cool" to say "I love you" except to your date who might just become your future mate. We knew we were loved by significant people in our lives, but we couldn't find the "courage" to say it to anyone. Maybe we thought it was only for the weak and effeminate. Today almost every phone conversation ends with the words: "I love you!" and then "Goodbye!" Hugs have become pretty popular, too. Some folks have not yet bought into that, but those who have enjoy heart-felt affection which is from above.
In the bygone age, folks loved in actions but didn't express it in words. Our fathers were reluctant to take us on their knees and whisper words of tenderness in our ears. Little boys did not want to be kissed in public by their moms lest their peers poke fun at them and call them "sissies." Much of that has changed. Now verbal displays of love are acceptable to our dear ones. Today we say fondly to our faithful fathers, "Hey, Dad, I love you!" Some dads are deceased. We only see them in our dreams. We wish we could say it to them in reality. We wish we could have their counsel. But they're gone. Some dads are still living. That's a wonderful blessing. Today, we will express our love to them in many outpourings of appreciation and affection. They did and they do so much for us. Without them we wouldn't even be here. We thank God for them.
The now-deceased Paul Harvey once read the well-known excerpt "What is a Father?" For those unfortunate few who have never seen it, we quote it here:
A father is a thing that is forced to endure childbirth without an anesthetic. . . . A father never feels quite worthy of the worship in a child's eyes. He's never quite the hero his daughter thinks he is; never quite the man his son believes him to be, and this worries him, sometimes. So he works too hard to try to smooth the rough places in the road for those of his own who will follow him. . . . Fathers are what give daughters away to other men who aren't nearly good enough, so that they can have grandchildren that are smarter than anybody else's. Fathers make bets with insurance companies about who'll live the longest. One day they lose and the bets paid off to the part of them that's left behind. I don't know where a father goes when he dies, but I have an idea that after a good rest, wherever it is, he won't just sit on a cloud and wait for the girl he's loved and the children she bore. He'll be busy there, too, repairing the stairs, oiling the gates, improving the streets, smoothing the way.
God is our Heavenly Father. He is the epitome of every good quality a father should have to the fullest. As fathers, we would do well to study what the Bible says about God as a father and then do as close an imitation of that as we can. Jesus gave us the divine demonstration of what God expects in his children. "We're part of the family that's been born again," as the song says. Let's savor that relationship. Let's adore our heavenly Father. Let's love our dads dearly while we have them. Let's continue to express our affection for them in our words and in our deeds. "Hey, dad, I love you!" I hope that all of you dads hear that today and every day in genuine praise and appreciation.
Love you all,
Al--"the Horne of Africa."