By Brandon Young
This Sunday, June 18, is Father’s Day, and I would like to thank all the Godly men that have had an influence and impact on my life! My dad, my grandpas, former pastors, men of the church, and friends have helped to shape and mold me into the man that God wanted me to become! I reflected on how these men really made an impression on my life. I prefer to use the term Father for only God, the Father, and dad or daddy to refer to the rest of us men with children. These men in my life gave me love. After much thought and prayer, God revealed that he is always a giver, and he loves those who give! Immediately, I could see the connection. For men to be like God, the Father, they must love, and to love, one must give. 2 Corinthians 9:7 states, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” God loved us so much that he gave his only begotten Son so that we could become his children, and he gives continually. He will always provide for his children.
Giving is sacrificial. God is a God of abundance (John 10:10; James 1:5; Psalm 103:8; Isaiah 55:1-7; 2 Corinthians 9:8; Romans 5:20), and He loves to give it all away. As His children, we are called to imitate Him (Ephesians 5:1). Our generosity in giving is a demonstration of God’s character, and a response to what He has done for us. A Godly dad must be a cheerful giver, and be willing to sacrifice his time, energy, and money to meet the needs of his children and family. A stingy dad who thinks only of himself is not a dad like our Heavenly Father!
We earn the blessings and favor of the Heavenly Father when we give to those around us! Acts 20:35 tells us that it is more blessed to give than to receive. As a giver, you automatically become a receiver. You receive the favor of God! The first thing I did to begin a relationship with Jesus Christ was that I gave him myself completely. In return, he gave me forgiveness, mercy, grace, the Holy Ghost and all its fruits…. Love, peace, joy, etc. You cannot out-give God.
In giving, we are completely obeying God’s commands, and we are taking upon ourselves the nature of God. We are told to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, might, and strength. This is the greatest commandment. In order to love God, one must give. In fact, although the rich young ruler in Matthew chapter 19 had kept all the commandments from his youth up, he still lacked one thing. Jesus commanded him to sell all his possessions, distribute the money to the poor, and to follow him. The young man walked away sorrowfully. He trusted in his possessions and his love of money was more than his love of God. We are also told to love our neighbor as ourselves. Wow, what a command! What do we give and provide for ourselves? Love is an action of GIVING called Charity, and Charity is greater than faith and hope combined!
To gain more we must give more. Jesus says in Luke 6:38, “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” The Lord promises that as we give he will give more abundantly. If there has ever been a time that our children and our wives need Godly men to rise up and be self-sacrificing, it is today! We need men that have a desire to give like God the Father.
God made me a dad in 2006. My son Grayson is 11 years old, and I know how easy it is to get wrapped up in work, ministry, and life in general, and put him on the back burner. That is not God’s will for our relationship. Everything I do, and everything I don’t do, is forever shaping my son into a man. I want Grayson to know that his dad loves him, and will always provide for him. This does not mean that I give him all his wants, and buy him everything he desires, but it does mean I will always be there for him no matter his age. Buying gifts is far easier to us than sitting down to play with our children or listening to them, but what we do with our kids is far greater type of giving than buying! God is always there to listen, and to walk with us! He never leaves nor forsakes us! Men, let’s be there for our children, spouses, and our community! Let’s be givers like our Father! We will reap what we sow, and our sons and daughters will be just like us! How do you want them to turn out? That leads me to conclude this column with some verses from the 1974 song, Cats in the Cradle by Harry Chapin.
My son turned ten just the other day
He said, thanks for the ball, dad, come on let’s play
Can you teach me to throw, I said, not today
I got a lot to do, he said, that’s okay
And he walked away, but his smile never dimmed
Said, I’m gonna be like him, yeah
You know I’m gonna be like him

And the cat’s in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
When you coming home, dad?
I don’t know when
But we’ll get together then
You know we’ll have a good time then

I’ve long since retired and my son’s moved away
I called him up just the other day
I said, I’d like to see you if you don’t mind
He said, I’d love to, dad, if I could find the time
You see, my new job’s a hassle, and the kid’s got the flu
But it’s sure nice talking to you, dad
It’s been sure nice talking to you
And as I hung up the phone, it occurred to me
He’d grown up just like me
My boy was just like me.
(The Solution Column is provided by Pastor Brandon Young of Harmony Free Will Baptist Church, Hampton, and his associate, Hunter Greene.)