Father’s Day is to honor and appreciate our fathers, and it is also an opportunity to reflect on the ultimate Father who is God. He is the God that is nothing but love, provision, protection and more. Our earth fathers must take God’s lead on loving, providing and protecting His children. Yes, they will never be as perfect as God, but we all know that where our effort and ability end is where and when God’s power, strength and Grace activate and take over. I wonder if there has ever been a season such as the one we are living in – there are more and more children without fathers or father figures. The fathers are alive but fail to be actively involved in the children’s lives, in creating and building homes. It is a sad and heartbreaking reality. Jesus is the Son of God, the same God we all call Our Heavenly Father. Jesus is also referred to as the carpenter’s son. He was a son of a man who was in the profession of building and creating. Jesus’ life, and the result of His relationship with both God the Father and Joseph the carpenter, portray the importance of the role of fathers and the legacies they are expected to create and build – not only through honoring their children but most importantly, in honoring the role and responsibility God the Father has bestowed them. Could it be that God planned for Joseph to be a carpenter so that his position of being Jesus’ father sends a message God wants to portray? That the fathers’ responsibilities are to love their children and build families, homes and communities.

Jesus ‘ life, and the result of His relationship with both God the Father and Joseph the carpenter, portray the importance of the role of fathers and the legacies they are expected to create and build

Perhaps Joseph’s role is also to teach men to love and nurture children despite blood relations. Could it be that God chose to impregnate The Virgin Mary, who was about to be married by Joseph, to also emphasise that without a father’s involvement, the structure of a home, family, community, and a child’s life is incomplete? And that just as Joseph was instrumental in parenting Jesus, who was not his biological son, so it should be for each father, each man – to take up the role of creating and building homes, influencing, impacting and nurturing children positively no matter their relation? The influence and role of a father go beyond the title. It demands that fathers teach children values such as love, integrity, compassion and justice. When good fathers are present, children learn moral values and grow into adults who influence and build good homes. When they build good homes, they automatically create good communities and neighbors hoods and contribute to a just and compassionate world – this is the role of a father. Maybe if the fathers of this time took their role for what God intended it to be, today’s children would also grow up to create, build exemplary lives and leave generationally impactful legacies as Jesus did. He built the Church and changed lives for the better. A father’s role is to build and nurture children that will change communities and therefore the world. On this Father’s Day, may we honour God the Father, Joseph the Carpenter and Jesus the Son. May we celebrate and honour the fathers who have taken Jesus as their example to love, protect and provide for their children and communities. May we encourage our sons, brothers, cousins and those in our influence, to do better, to take Jesus’ and Joseph the carpenter’s baton and build good legacies for generational life-changing impact. May we Pray for, love and support those children who yearn for an earthly father. May we encourage and give Grace to the fathers who are genuinely trying to do better. May we start experiencing the fathers we wish to have and continuously show Gratitude to the Father that is God, the Lord and King of kings – our Daddy.

On this Father’s Day, may we honor God the Father, Joseph the Carpenter and Jesus the Son