'Happy Father's Day, Daddy'

By William Givens

The Rev. William Givens, soon to be a Buckhead Patch blogger, is associate pastor of missions and outreach at . He wrote for Buckhead Patch on the

Today will be an exciting day for me! My 2-year-old son will give me a homemade Father’s Day card, and I will enjoy its content while eating steak at my favorite restaurant. However, having grown up in a broken family, Father’s Day for me has not always been such a joyous occasion. In fact, recollecting on Father’s Day can sometimes cause painful memories to arise. 

Perhaps, regrettably so, this may be the case for you as well. You may or may not be going out for steak, but because of the absence of a father who did not or is not able to adequately express his love for you, today is not a day that brings you joy.

Having personally journeyed this path, I share with you Galatians 4:5-6 and Ephesians 2:18-19 ,which have created within me a new meaning and given me new reasons to celebrate Father’s Day. 

The Galatians passage says that God has adopted us as sons and daughters and blessed us with the Spirit of Christ, giving us the privilege to cry out to God, “Abba” or “Daddy.” In the same vein, the Ephesians passage says that in Christ we have become members of the family of God.

Combined, these two passages have caused me to realize that despite our family of origin, be it good or bad, healthy or unhealthy, or how alone we may have felt growing up, we can enjoy today, assured that we are loved by God who has adopted us as His very own and has welcomed us into His family. 

In short, we all have a Daddy that loves us and because of this reality we can all say with joy in our hearts, “Happy Father’s Day Daddy.”  Amen.