Development

The Father’s Dearly Loved Children

6.16.24 [Colossians 3:12-17] River of Life (3rd Sunday after Pentecost)

Callie called up her local radio station with a request. It was an old song, but one she knew and loved. She wanted to dedicate the song to her father. When the DJ asked if he was out there listening to it, she replied “No. He had a bad accident at work. Had emergency surgery right after that. I stayed with him for weeks in the hospital. It wasn’t what any of us expected or hoped for. And now I’m running his excavation company in his honor. I hope I’m making him proud.”

Callie was close enough with her dad to spend weeks with him in the hospital. She was old enough to run her dad’s excavation company, but still had not outgrown her desire to make her dad proud. Isn’t that what most kids want from their father—to make him proud?

But is it healthy for Callie to feel that way?

Some might say it’s not healthy. They might look at the challenges of running any company in this economy & tell Callie that she shouldn’t put that pressure on herself. That her dad should be proud of her no matter what she does. And maybe that is true in Callie’s case.

But is it a negative thing that she knows with certainty that running her dad’s company would make him proud? Yes, there will be days when that work will be exhausting and frustrating. But isn’t there something special about working for dad in the family business?

Now, sometimes, this desire to make your father proud can wreak havoc on a person. Not just on their relationship with dad, but with almost everyone else. When dad is distant—physically, mentally, or emotionally—it can be hard for a child to know how to make him proud. To even know what they are supposed to do. When dad has impossibly high standards, it can feel impossible to make dad proud.

But when dad is present—when he’s physically with you; when he’s mentally engaged; when he is emotionally invested and supportive—it is deeply rewarding for a child to do something that makes dad proud. When dad has clearly communicated his expectations and teaches and encourages his child to meet those standards, it is tremendously fulfilling for that child to see and hear that his or her father is proud of them.

In today’s text, we hear from our Heavenly Father how we can make him proud. He speaks clearly about how we should dress, how we should treat people, how we should think, and how we should talk.

It begins with how we should dress, spiritually speaking. When people look at us our heavenly Father wants them to see these characteristics.

(Col. 3:12) Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. It makes our heavenly Father proud to see his children display a merciful heart, go out of their way to do what is right, be quick to think about what’s best for others and eager to serve, and be friendly and encouraging even under difficult circumstances.

So we have to ask ourselves: is this how people see us? I don’t mean have you ever been compassionate, or kind. I don’t mean do you think of yourself as humble, gentle, & patient. Do others see you this way? That’s the function of clothes. They are for others to see. Do neighbors, coworkers, and waitstaff see your compassion & kindness? Would your family and friends describe you as humble and gentle and patient? How about in moments when you don’t get your way or you’re tired or you’re frustrated? Unfortunately, there are far too many times when we’re underdressed by God’s standards.

But it’s not just what we wear. Our heavenly Father cares about how we treat other people. The first expectation is that we bear with one another. Certainly, the virtues we are to put on help with that. But Paul encourages (Rom. 15:1-2) the strong to bear with with the weak, to build up our neighbors rather than to please ourselves. To bear with someone is to spiritually mentor them—to rebuke, correct, and encourage them in living as a child of God.

Have you watched someone make foolish and even sinful choices and said to yourself: “That’s not my problem!” We all have right? We do this because we want to sidestep the consequences of their poor choices. Now, the sinner must bear the temporal burden of their own sinful choices. But as spiritual family, we ought to bear with—not for—them. We don’t leave them to wallow in their own mistake all alone.

Not only that, but our Lord expects us to (Col. 3:13) forgive as we have been forgiven. To remember that when someone sins against us, no matter how much of a big deal it feels like in the moment, it is nothing compared to the sin debt we would owe God were it not for Christ. Next our Father gives us his favorite cure-all—the divine duct tape we know as love. Selfless, sacrificial love (1 Pt. 4:8) covers a multitude of sins. Selfless, sacrificial love (1 Jn. 4:18) drives out fear.

Then our Father tells us how to think. Be people who are called to and consumed by peace. Determined to be grateful and content.

Finally, your heavenly Father wants you to talk like him. All dads have a set of sayings and stories and expressions that their kids know like the back of their hand. Sometimes, a kid knows what their dad is going to say about something even before they say it. How come? Because they’ve heard it a thousand times before. And they were listening. That’s how our Father wants us to be with his Word, especially the message of his Son, Christ Jesus. Your Father wants you to be able to finish the phrase: (Ps. 136:1) O give thanks to the Lord for he is good, his mercy endures forever. Or (Jn. 3:16) God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. Or (Eph. 2:8-9) It is by grace you have been saved, through faith, and this is not from yourselves, it is gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast. Or (Rom. 8:28) and we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

Your Heavenly Father smiles each time you can rattle off Luke 2 or recite the Apostles’ Creed or pray the Lord’s prayer from memory. Your Heavenly Father beams with pride when you explain the truths of the Bible with his Son’s parables—like the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son, the Mustard Seed, and the Unmerciful Servant.

When you adorn your life with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience, you make your heavenly Father proud. When you bear with your fellow Christians through thick and thin, through good times and bad, you honor him. Your heavenly Father is thrilled when you forgive as you have been forgiven. Your heavenly Father is overjoyed when you are ruled by the peace of Christ and thankful. Your heavenly Father is cheering you as you repeat his Word and the message of his Son. Each of these things, all of these practices and habits and ways of life are good and your heavenly Father delights when you have done well.

But we don’t do any of these things to win his love or approval. Like any good earthly father, God your heavenly Father loved you first. He loved you when you were nakedly selfish and ungrateful and unkind and impatient. He loved you when you only concerned about number one. He loved you when you nursed grudges and refused to let go. He loved you when you were unloving, belligerent, and ungrateful. He loved you before you knew John 3:16, Luke 2, or that Christ is risen. He continues to love you after you have come to know his love but struggle to live in ways that loves or approves of.

You see a good earthly father is proud of their children when they do good things, especially when they do the things he has taught them. But he always loves them. Kids don’t earn that. They receive it as a birthright. They are loved even before they take their first breath.

In the same way, we do not earn the love of our Heavenly Father. We do not do anything to deserve it. He chose us to be his very own. He made us holy through the waters of Baptism. He set us apart to be his special possession, his royal priests. He has shown us his mercy and his grace. He has forgiven us freely, at the precious cost of the holy and innocent blood of his Son. He has blessed us with peace. We never have to worry that the Lord God is out to get us. He has given us his Son. He continues to give us our daily bread. He gives us good and perfect gifts because he does not change like shifting shadows. He speaks encouraging words. He loves us unconditionally. He promises to never leave or forsake you. He is physically there. He is engaged in all your cares and concerns. He is tender and kind, gentle and patient with you. All the things that make him proud to see in you, he has showered you with throughout your lifetime. He has given you peace. He has forgiven you. He has made you his dearly loved children.

That kind of love makes you want to make your heavenly Father proud. You want to expend yourself in the family business—which is all the things that Paul talks about here in Colossians 3. So make your heavenly Father proud! Be about the family business. And never wonder what he loves, what he approves of, what he celebrates. Make your heavenly Father proud.

Adorn your life with compassion and kindness. Be opportunistic about moments to serve others. Be gentle and patient with people whom everyone else has given up on. Bear with people who cannot bear their burdens on their own. Forgive people who have failed you. And be thankful. That you are at peace with God. That you know how he thinks, how he talks, and how he acts. Make your heavenly Father proud. (Col. 3:17) And whatever you, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God your Father. Amen.