Be A Blessing
Father’s Day is a cultural celebration for dads and the men in our lives who have been father-figures to us. This year was the second celebration that I reflected on the impact that my dad had on my life. Since his unexpected passing in January 2025, Father’s Day is one special day that I have considered the blessing of my dad’s life, and also the ways that I can learn from the areas that he fell short. This isn't a criticism but rather it is a fact of parenting. We do not need to be fearful of this reality.
None of us are designed to be “all things at all times” to our children or anyone else. We are limited creatures. We do want to be “the best” mom or dad that we can be because we love our kids. How do we define what “the best” means though? What is the measure by which we know we have achieved this ideal we have created? The answer to this question is certainly unique to life experience. But I also believe that the Scriptures offer God’s divine wisdom in navigating many parenting questions, including this one.
In Genesis 12, God makes His covenant with Abraham. God’s promises include that through Abraham’s family all of the nations of the world would be blessed. This blessing would ultimately come through Jesus Christ, the messianic “seed” (Gen 22:18) and son of David (2 Sam 7:12-16, Isaiah 11). The Apostle Paul teaches us about the fulfilment of this promise in Christ in Galatians 3:
“The promises were spoken to Abraham and his seed. Scripture does not say ‘and to seeds,’ meaning many people, but ‘and to your seed,’ meaning one person, who is Christ” (Gal 3:16)
Jesus is the blessing to all nations, the King who ushered in the Kingdom of God, redeeming humanity to God through His atoning death. In Him, we become a part of God’s family (Gal 3:26), and as God’s beloved children by faith we are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13). Having all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, we walk in the Spirit and bear fruit!
In Christ, brothers and sisters, we get to participate in the promise as His Church, becoming a blessing to others through Jesus. That includes being a blessing to our own families and children in Christ, but also all of God’s children through adoption in our local churches as well as the surrounding community as His witnesses.
This is what I pray for myself and my husband as we learn to be “the best” parents we can be: that we would be generational blessings in Christ to our kids. A blessing that who we become and live as in Christ - a growing godly character, Christlike love and service, and spiritual fruit - as parents will be “the best” part of who our kids remember us to be. God has promised to complete a good work that He has started in all of us in Christ! I pray that we all accept this gift to live fully alive as a blessing for our good and the good of all.
BK