Daddy's Girl on Father's Day
Daddy’s Girl on Father’s Day
God has given many of us good fathers. Some have been blessed with Christian fathers, which is even better. A Christian father looks no different from other men, but they live differently and love their children even more for all the right reasons. Some fathers want children to be their toys, just to play with. Whereas, Christian fathers know that their children are God’s gifts entrusted to their care to raise them for God’s honour. Life is more than food and drink and constant games. God wants all boys and girls to know Him, love Him and serve Him. That means that your dad has a big job to care for you. You are a special gift to your dad, and you have a special purpose in this world, to live for God.
Sometimes fathers are faced with trials over their children because some get sick and some even die. This happened to a Jewish father who was a ruler of a synagogue. This man, Jairus, had a little girl whom he must have loved very much. Being a ruler, he could afford to spoil her with many nice things and many comforts in life, but when the little girl became sick, he was helpless. He dreaded the thought of her growing worse and worse until she died.
Wisely, Jairus decided to bring the Lord Jesus to his house to lay his hand upon the girl and heal her from her terrible sickness. He had heard so many reports of Jesus doing such miracles of healing. All over the land of Israel, the Lord’s healing power was giving hope and help to untold numbers of sick people. Jairus believed that the Lord could also heal his daughter. So, he set off to find the Lord Jesus.
Jairus’s feet must have carried him speedily along the roadways. Along the way, he asked, “Where is Jesus’ the miracle worker?” As soon as he found the Lord, he fell at his feet to give him honour. Then breathlessly, but respectfully he told the Lord how his little girl became sick and then got even sicker to the point that he was afraid she was going to die. Jairus pleaded with the Lord Jesus to come quickly to his home to heal her before death stole her away from him forever.
In the midst of the crowd of people, the Lord became distracted. A woman who was suffering greatly wanted his attention, and the Lord hearing her cry was pleased to heal her from her long-term illness. It seemed that the Lord Jesus could never say “no” to anyone’s plea for help.
While the Lord attended to the woman’s needs, Jairus’ heard voices crying out to him. “Jairus, don’t trouble the Lord any further, your daughter is dead. It’s too late now for anyone to help.” This was awful news, and it was such a test to Jairus’s faith in the power of the Lord.
Just when he may have thought to himself that he should walk away in defeat, the Lord who was distracted by the sick woman, overheard the news that Jairus’ daughter was dead, and the Lord said to him, “Be not afraid, only believe.”
What did that mean? What was he to believe? Poor Jairus’ mind and heart must have been torn about what to expect. Then the Lord took over the situation. He told the crowd of people to stay in their places and he called three of his disciples, Peter, James and John to come with him to Jairus’ house. That must have been a wonderful walk, but how could anything be done now that Jairus’ little girl was dead?
When the men arrived at Jairus’ home, the household was in a frantic state of mourning. There were weird sounds of chanting to music. The sounds of cries and sobs could be heard in the street. Everyone was broken-hearted at the loss of Jairus’ little girl.
Then the Lord spoke in a loud, clear voice, “Give place: for the maid is not dead, but sleepeth.” Instantly, the music and the chanting fell silent. Then some spurted out in half-hearted laughter. Someone may have said, “What do you know, you haven’t even seen the girl. There she lies cold and still, she is dead.”
Jesus, then put everyone out of the house. He went in and took the girl by the hand and immediately she arose, as if she woke from a deep sleep. She was fully alive. Everything about her was back to normal. Her voice, her happy smiling face and her delight to see her father reassured everyone that she really was alive, and, her sickness was totally gone too.
The Bible says, “The fame hereof went abroad into all that land.” You can be very sure it did. The people in the towns, roadways and in the fields and in the synagogue were soon rejoicing for Jairus. What a gift to receive his daughter back to life. And what kind of man is this Jesus, who could raise a dead girl back to life in her father’s own home.
That became the all-important question as Jesus performed such miracles. People had to listen to Jesus’ teaching and preaching all the more closely because His miracles were facts that would never go away. They could not be ignored. Jesus’ miracles caused great attention to His ministry of the gospel. When Jesus said that he was sent into the world by His heavenly Father, it was true. When Jesus said, that he was the Son of God, it was true. His miracles pointed to a miraculous person. He was truly God and man in one person, just as he claimed. If the Lord Jesus had lived and died without such a display of His power over nature, over diseases and over death then how could He claim to be God.
His supernatural works gave great meaning and authority to His words. His works and words went together. So much so, that when we read the Bible, we are forced to confess that these are not the words of a man, but of the Son of God.
The gospel, then, becomes good news for it is the message of a Saviour who has the power to save sinners from their sins. When He promises to cleanse us from sin and give us eternal life, we can bank on it. In heaven’s bank, Jesus name is all worthy.
The Lord promises to give us new hearts, which will lead to new lives here on earth and eternal life in heaven. That is why a Christian father is the very best kind of father. He can pray to God and plead His promises. He can live a true life because the Lord dwells in his heart. He can live as a witness for the Lord Jesus in this world to be the kind of father that every boy and girl would want. If your father is a Christian you are very blessed. You have God’s favour on your life through the blessings that come through your dad.
Your dad will also want you to belong to the Lord Jesus. If you are not saved, you are dead in trespasses and sins and will never live with God in heaven. You need a new heart to live for God so that one day you will live with God. Only when you are saved from sin with the Lord Jesus living in your heart will you be a member of God’s family. Think about this: To have a father who is a Christian is truly a great thing. For a father to have a Christian girl or a Christian boy would be the greatest blessing this side of heaven. And remember that Jesus has the power to save you today.