Unity Church of Castro Valley
Sunday Message for June 20, 2010
Honor Your Father
Today is Father's Day, so I would like to honor all Fathers - but I would like to also honor our Father in Heaven.
For it says in the second chapter of Malachia "Have we not all one father? Has not one God created us?"
FATHERS OF ALL KINDS
Fathers come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and types. But then, so do all people - and their differences don't make them any more or less valuable.
Look at the group that Jesus got together - it is a wonder that they could work together at all. Philip was a scholar. Matthew was a tax collector, so the others would have considered him a traitor to his people. Simon (the Canaanite) was a member of a nationalist group, the Zealots. Judas Iscariot was not even from Galilee, but was an out-of-towner who most likely brought his own customs into the group. And yet, Jesus saw through all of that and saw the value of each of the twelve.
Our Fathers have been like that - an odd bunch; maybe not what we would have wished for; maybe not as good as the neighbor's Father - but each had value.
I mean look at the bunch that God worked with throughout scripture, and every one of them was used for a higher purpose.
Abraham was too old. David was too young. Moses stuttered. Hosea's wife was a prostitute. Amos spent his time pruning sycamore trees. Elijah was depressed. Jonah ran from God. Noah got drunk. Jacob was deceitful. David was an adulterer and a murderer. Solomon was too rich. Naomi was a poor widow. Samson had long hair. Elisha had none. John the Baptist was too stern. In many people's eyes, Jesus was too lenient. Martha was a worry-wart. Mary was lazy. James and John wanted to call down fire from heaven on their adversaries. Peter was afraid of death. Lazarus WAS dead. And Thomas doubted. But God used them every one and recognized their value.
There are many fathers mentioned in scripture; fathers who shaped history. These were fathers who planted the seeds of faith in their children and impacted their lives forever. Because God took the seeds that they had planted and grew these children into the adults they were destined to be.
Isn't it our greatest desire that our children might grow up to be better people that we have been? And what about our grandkids, nieces and nephews? Isn't it our responsibility to prepare them for life by teaching them the Truth of God?
PREPARE THE SOIL
Any gardener knows that the first step of planting is to prepare the soil. Some folks think that all it takes to garden is to break a hole in the ground and put in a plant. And if that isn't enough, they douse it with some chemicals: fertilizers to make it grow, herbicides to kill the weeds, and bug spray to kill the insects. They belong to a society that believes in instant gratification and better living through chemistry.
We are just beginning to discover the folly of our ways: how bug spray and herbicides make their way into the food chain and end up poisoning us; how fertilizers get into streams and lakes and kill the fish; how chemicals deplete the soil, destroy its structure and disrupt its delicate ecosystem. We are just rediscovering the wisdom of patience and knowledge - that it takes a long time to build good soil, and a short time to destroy it. You have to treat the soil with respect, and be willing to learn, and have a lot of patience to be a good gardener.
And you, fathers, are that soil. And the whole purpose of soil is to grow things - to grow into God's likeness, as His children. To pass on faith, you must have faith. To pass on values, you must have values. You must be living Universal Principle if you wish to pass it on to your children. They learn by example, not by what you say.
The home environment is very important. Statistics say that children who see physical violence between their parents are six times more likely to abuse their own spouses after they marry. If those children were also hit by their parents, they are 12 times more likely to be abusers.
Good soil is broken up and soft. As fathers, you need to know yourself and be honest with yourself. You need to be loving and yielding. Clarence Budington said about his father, "He didn't tell me how to live; he lived, and let me watch him do it."
I know kids seem to want a lot of stuff, but it's not the outside that counts. It's not what you have, but who you are inside that influences a child. If a father has genuine love, the child feels safe and nurtured. If a father has genuine faith that is consistent and open, the child learns to trust.
So instead of worrying about what you have or how clean your house is - try doing some inner house cleaning. Clean out the cobwebs within you so that you can offer an example to your child that will help them grow into strong, psychologically healthy adults.
SELECT THE SEED
The next step for a gardener is to select the seed. You have to decide what you are going to plant. It says in the sixth chapter of Galatians "Do not be deceived; God is not mocked, for you reap whatever you sow."b No matter how hard you try to produce excellent lettuce - if you plant carrot seeds, you will get carrots.
We are planting all the time. Every idea, every fear, every desire is a seed planted in the fertile soil of Universal Mind. The trick to getting good results is to make a conscious decision about what you are thinking, what you are planting. Because you are always planting something.
Some time ago Readers Digest told the story about a company with a wonderful advertising plan. They mailed out post cards with a seed glued to it. The caption read, "If you have faith as small as this mustard seed in our product, you are guaranteed to get excellent results and be totally satisfied."
A few months later one recipient of this promotional piece wrote back to the company and said, "You will be very interested to know that I planted the mustard seed you sent on your advertising card and it has grown into a very healthy bush producing wonderful tomatoes!"
It never fails - you grow what you plant! So, as a father you would be wise to follow the advice from the fourth chapter of Philippians "Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."c
Dr Phil McGraw is fond of saying, "Catch your kids doing something good and praise them for it; instead of always trying to catch them doing something wrong."
PLANT THE SEED
It says in the eleventh chapter of Hebrews, "By faith Isaac invoked blessings for the future on Jacob and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of Joseph, bowing in worship over the top of his staff."d
The next step for the gardener is to plant the seed. You must consistently and continually plant seeds through what you say and what you do. You have to teach it and you have to model it. If your words are not congruent with what you do, think, and feel - then the message will never get to the kids.
Universal Principles are more 'caught' than 'taught.' You plant seeds by what you say, but the greatest seeds are sown by the life you live. Show them that there is a law of cause and effect in your life. Show them that by giving you receive. Show them that you attract to you, what you think about all the time.
PROMOTE GROWTH
After planting the seed the gardener needs to find a way to promote growth. You need to create the right conditions to stimulate good growth. You would not expose your tender plants to the harsh elements, so why your children?
One of the best atmospheres for growth that I know of is the Unity teaching. It is spiritually and psychologically healthy because it teaches self-esteem, responsibility, and a wholesome attitude toward God.
We water our plants to keep them healthy and growing. And we water our children by giving them faith in God. In the fourth chapter of John, "Jesus said, "Everyone who drinks of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life."e
Good gardeners also weed their gardens to keep their plants healthy. And we have to know that weeds are going to enter into the lives of our children. Fathers can't protect their children from the world forever. But we can pull out the weeds as they start and not let them take over.
PLAN FOR THE HARVEST
Then the gardener plans for the harvest. We always sow with the harvest in mind. You wouldn't bother to plant tomato seeds if you didn't expect to harvest tomatoes.
So as fathers, you need to know your goal and be consistent with your kids. As it says in Proverbs "Train children in the right way, and when old, they will not stray."f
And, as all gardeners know, you have to have patience. You have to wait for the seed to sprout. Then you have to wait for the plant to mature. Then you have to wait for it to produce fruit.
We also do this with our children. We never give up on our children. It says it so well in the sixth chapter of Galatians, "So let us not grow weary in doing what is right, for we will reap at harvest time, if we do not give up."g
FATHER'S DAY CEREMONY
So I would now like to pay tribute to the men we know. I have the names of men that I would like to acknowledge. If you are present and would like to come up to pay tribute yourself, please do so. So for (NAME) I light this candle in memory of (NAME). For (NAME) I light this candle in honor of (NAME). Is there anyone else who would like to add a man to this list?
As you look at this garden of candles, think of the men in your life who have influenced you, inspired you, strengthened you, and loved you. Men who have planted ideas in your mind and watched you grow. Men we loved and hated. Men we blame for all our faults and weaknesses, and thank for all our strengths and talents. Men who weren't perfect but did the best they knew how to do. And so we grew, blossomed and produced fruit. And so we thank them.
I think the fathers of scripture must have done all the things a good gardener does. They prepared good soil and had the courage to do what was right and loving for their children. They knew they could not plant everything in their lives. Time is so short, so we choose the seeds of faith in God and national identity. We plant them as often as we can. Enough seed, and surely something will grow. God provides the watering and fertilizing and weeding. We plant with our eyes on the harvest and our children surprise us with their magnificence.
(Romans 8:14-17) For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. For you did not receive a spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received a spirit of adoption. When we cry, "Abba! Father!" it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christh--
a Malachi 2:10
b Galatians 6:7
c Philippians 4:8
d Hebrews 11:20-21
e John 4:13-14
f Proverbs 22:6
g Galatians 6:9
h Romans 8:14-17
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