I truly appreciate the commitment my father had in doing what was necessary to ensure we had everything we needed. The majority of my childhood my father worked two jobs, but if I had a game or program at school he was there. My father wasn’t big on hugging or telling you he loved you, but his actions showed you how much he cared. In Matthew 9:18-19, 23-26 we read about a father that was willing to ask Jesus to lay His hand on his daughter and she shall live. This man was the leader of the synagogue and was responsible for all activities. I don’t know whether or not he had a problem with Jesus. But, from the Gospels we know the Pharisees and scribes had issues with Jesus. When the leader’s daughter became ill, he did all he could to improve her situation but nothing worked. In the back of his mind he’s thinking: maybe I need to ask Jesus for help. The reason this came to mind is because he either knew or heard what He was capable of doing. If he reaches out to Jesus, it will cause a problem for him with the Pharisees and scribes. This will impact his position in the synagogue as leader, and how his fellow Jews viewed him. He had a dilemma on what to do: to protect his position as leader, or call on Jesus for help. While he is battling in his mind what to do, his daughter is not getting any better. Her illness finally consumes her and she dies.  The father is distraught, because he realizes he did not do everything he could to save her.  As he looks at her dead body, he makes the decision to call on Jesus, because now he does not care what anybody will think about him. When he approaches Jesus, he tells him his daughter is dead, but he believes He can still save her. Could you imagine the look on the faces of all the people when this leader came home with Jesus? The leader does not care what they think, because all that matters is his daughter being healed. Jesus has everybody removed from the house then He takes the girl by the hand and she gets up. Can you imagine the look on the leader’s face when he sees his daughter alive! He did not care about anything at this point accept being able to give his daughter a hug. He learned Jesus can do amazing things when we give it to Him.

This biblical teaching shows us the father’s love for his child was greater than anything else. I don’t know if this impacted his position in the synagogue, but I truly believe that was not on his list of concerns when he called on Jesus.

I want everyone that reads this blog to think about their father and what he did to ensure you had what you needed. Many fathers have made unpopular decisions to make sure their children had what they needed. They were able to do this because they gave it to Jesus.

Happy Father’s Day!

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