Oh, My Papa - Part 1

Malachi 4:5 and 6 are two very curious and fascinating verses of scripture. They're the last two verses of the Protestant Old Testament.

"See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. He will turn the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts os the children to their fathers, or else I will come and strike the land with a curse." (NIV)

I don't want to get too far into the 'eschatological ramifications' (how's THAT for some theological-ese?) of this verse. What I really want to focus on here is the fact that it seems like it's important to God that fathers and sons get along.

You may have had, or continue to have, a very close and wonderful relationship with your father. You may even see him as a hero, a pal, a best friend or a mentor.

Many men, however, don't. And much of the difficulty that men have these day stems from the fact that they've struggled, or continue to struggle DEEPLY in their relationship with their fathers.

Even though I loved my father, I struggled a great deal in my relationship with him.

In reality, he was quite a remarkable fellow. He was born in 1917 and had grown up on a homestead farm in South Dakota. He hung out with the Sioux and attended their Pow-Wows even though he was not Native American. He lived through the depression. He served in the Army during WWII (although he never saw combat). He worked hard all his life in the lumber industry.

When I hit my teens, somehow our relationship became somewhat antagonistic. I just chalked a lot of it up to the usual clashes that come when kids enter 'teen-dom.' There were certain areas where Dad and I jived really well, but then there were areas where we constantly came to loggerheads.

Flash forward - Resolution for my conflict came when Dad went into a nursing home and the doctor he'd been avoiding for many years came back into his life (long unnecessary story). Among several things the doctor told us about Dad was that he'd most likely had Alzheimer's for a number of years.

Upon hearing this, all of the angst I'd ever had toward my father disapeared. My struggles with him suddenly made sense. I had read a little about Alzheimer's and knew that it isn't just about forgetfulness. Among the many symptoms, one is inordinate bouts of anger accompanied by wild mood swings.

I had been the target of many of those mood swings, often when no one else was around to witness them. Hearing this information from the doctor allowed me to instantly forgive my father and make peace in my heart with him.

I will continue to discuss this topic of relationships between fathers and sons in further posts. Please feel free to comment on this post.

The SOMEBODY Factor

"I'm SOMEBODY now, " Navin R. Johnson (played by Steve Martin in the 1979 movie, "The Jerk") exclaimed when he found his name in the new phone book. Were it only so simple for most of us.

One of the greatest struggles most men have, I believe, is that of possessing some sense of value in the materialistic world we inhabit.

What is it that gives you a sense of value? The pat answer for most is their job, career, family, home, some accomplishment, achievement, etc. I believe, however, that deep inside every man is a sense of emptiness. Something that cannot be filled by anything material.

What makes YOU "somebody"?

Personally, I have searched many avenues trying to find value and have only come up with one that is satisfactory. It's found in a simple parable in the book of Matthew that says, "The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in is joy went and sold all that he had and bought that field" (Matthew 13:44).

There are various interpretations of this parable, but I have found only one that answers it to my satisfaction. The field is the world, the man is Christ and WE are the treasure. Christ looked at the world and found that there would be a group of individuals who would accept his love and sacrifice. When he realized this treasure existed, He bought the world with the most precious substance in the universe - His blood - so He could have fellowship with those who would ultimately choose Him to share eternity with.

God Himself, having come to us in the flesh, offered the perfect sacrifice (Christ's death on the cross) in order to enjoy us as His treasure forever. That gives us eternal worth and value... and makes us SOMEBODY in the eyes of the only one in the universe who truly matters.