Exhortation: Father Hunger and True Bread

Grace, Mercy, and Peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Bible tells us that fathers are providers. What Father would give His Son a stone if the son asked for bread? The answer is a false father. The world is replete with false fathers. The father hunger in our society grows with each passing day. There is a need for godly fathers who know their roles as providers in the home. The false fathers today are not so blunt as to give a stone; rather they give some form of bread; a substitute for the real thing. They provide entertainment without love; goods without grace. They will give their children and wife everything, but true bread. They will give them everything but nurture, love, care, encouragement. But as Paul says, “of you I expect better things.”

Father’s Day has a way of reminding us that bread is bread. We provide for our families, because it is our sacred duty. Children, your responsibility to honor the fifth commandment goes far beyond a mere acknowledgment of the fatherhood of your dad; it goes far beyond a “Yes, Sir or No, Sir” answer, honoring the fifth commandment means observing your father with the intention of becoming like him. Now, for fathers, this means that you will have to become quite familiar with the words “I am sorry and I repent,” so that your children will learn to imitate you, even in how you respond to your sins. Fathers, to give your children bread is to give them of yourselves. Nothing else will cure the father hunger in our culture.