Honor Dad

I am on the road today traveling to see my dad. His birthday is Monday, he will be 89. In Exodus 20:12, Deuteronomy 5:16; Malachi 1:6; Matthew 15:4 - 9; 19:16 - 22; Mark7:10; Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; and Ephesians 6:2 the Holy Spirit repeats the command to "honor your father and mother." That is both testaments, six different authors over a thousand year period. Repetition is one of the ways that things are emphasized in the Bible. It is kind of like when the teacher used to stamp their foot during class to let you know something would be on the test. Here this is emphasized not just in one passage but throughout the text of the Bible, the first time in the ten commandments. Must be important.

Dad is one of my heroes. He served our country in WWII. in the past few years I have attended the reunion of his outfit. I have been amazed at the stories they tell of what they did and saw. They arrived as Auschwitz the day after it was liberated, dad still cannot talk about that without deep and raw emotions. But the most incredible thing to me is not his hero status as a veteran, rather it is his faithfulness to my mother and his family. He and mom were married for 54 years. Long time. In this day and age, incredible. So we honor him, by visiting him, seeking his counsel, praying for him, caring for him.

There is more to this though in Malachi 1:6 the Lord applies this notion of honoring father and mother to Him. It seems that our honor of our earthly fathers and mothers is a reflection of our honor for our heavenly Father.

Our kids learn a lot by observing what we do.

I saw something else here but this is getting long so I will pick this up again tomorrow.