"Pray then like this: Our Father who art in heaven. Matthew 6:9    

On Father's Day we pay tribute to the role of father in family life. A good father is more than a paycheck with arms and legs. He is the head of the house, guiding center, protector, source of love and inspiration, model and example for living. We honor father for good reasons.    

God has paid fathers the highest tribute. He has used fathers as a picture of His relation to people. Jesus taught us to think of God as "our Father in heaven."    

God is all a good father is and more. He is the source of life; we live because of Him. Because he has put His life and Spirit in us, we are His children and rightly call Him our Father.    

Like a good father, God cares for us and provides for us. He knows our deepest needs and fills them. God disciplines us the way every good father corrects his children. Would a good father not show them the difference between right and wrong?    

Most important, as our Father, God is a person with whom we can share our lives. He is not an object or an impersonal force. He is Someone to whom we can speak. We can pray, "Our Father who art in heaven" and can expect an answer.    

A father who emulates God                                                                                                    Is one who is faithful and true;                                                                                     And if he is honest and strong,                                                                                         His children will follow him too.  

THOUGHT FOR THE DAY - Good fathers not only tell us how to live, they show us.