Happy Father's Day to our Father
My six year old son created for his Daddy a piece of abstract installation art with 9 black dots, an aqua crepe paper flag that flaps and a button made from gold glitter.
"Happy Father's Day!"
Art is duly installed upon door of Daddy's bedroom.
Last night we celebrated Father's Day with my father in law, over a steamboat dinner. My own dad I visited too — he lives in a nursing home and has advanced Parkinson's Disease. His Father's Day treat is half a cup of melting durian ice cream. Still, he got to see my brother and I, and his grandson, so all is well.
Father's Day hasn't quite got the allure of Mother's Day just yet. There's still no problem getting reservations at a restaurant the day before Father's Day, but the very same seats would have been booked weeks ahead in May for Mother's Day.
Which leaves me to wonder if this doesn't reflect Singapore's attitude towards our Father in Heaven.
The Catholic Church, from where I once came, spends most of its energy on Mary, the human mother of God. This is true in Singapore anyway, where Novena is the popular Catholic church and it's a church dedicated to Mary. She gets flowers, offerings, and a packed to overflowing carpark every weekend — Catholics in Singapore love this Mom!
But the Father, He gets ignored. He's feared but not in the way He means to be. He is seen as distant, the judge, the punisher. "Wait till your Father gets home" or rather in this case, wait till you get Home to your Father!
How far from the truth is this!!
Today I listened to the lyrics of the classic Christian hymn 'In Christ Alone' — and it is the story of how our God, our Father, loved us so much He did what needed to be done to bring us back into His arms, which is to send His sinless Son to carry every sin upon His own body.
In Christ alone my hope is found
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
?il on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Happy Father's Day, Abba! What gift can we possibly give you that would mean anything — except to love you with all our hearts, our minds, our strength?
"Happy Father's Day!"
Art is duly installed upon door of Daddy's bedroom.
Last night we celebrated Father's Day with my father in law, over a steamboat dinner. My own dad I visited too — he lives in a nursing home and has advanced Parkinson's Disease. His Father's Day treat is half a cup of melting durian ice cream. Still, he got to see my brother and I, and his grandson, so all is well.
Father's Day hasn't quite got the allure of Mother's Day just yet. There's still no problem getting reservations at a restaurant the day before Father's Day, but the very same seats would have been booked weeks ahead in May for Mother's Day.
Which leaves me to wonder if this doesn't reflect Singapore's attitude towards our Father in Heaven.
The Catholic Church, from where I once came, spends most of its energy on Mary, the human mother of God. This is true in Singapore anyway, where Novena is the popular Catholic church and it's a church dedicated to Mary. She gets flowers, offerings, and a packed to overflowing carpark every weekend — Catholics in Singapore love this Mom!
But the Father, He gets ignored. He's feared but not in the way He means to be. He is seen as distant, the judge, the punisher. "Wait till your Father gets home" or rather in this case, wait till you get Home to your Father!
How far from the truth is this!!
Today I listened to the lyrics of the classic Christian hymn 'In Christ Alone' — and it is the story of how our God, our Father, loved us so much He did what needed to be done to bring us back into His arms, which is to send His sinless Son to carry every sin upon His own body.
He is my light, my strength, my song
This Cornerstone, this solid ground
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm
What heights of love, what depths of peace
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease
My Comforter, my All in All
Here in the love of Christ I stand
In Christ alone, who took on flesh
Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness
Scorned by the ones He came to save
?il on that cross as Jesus died
The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid
Here in the death of Christ I live
There in the ground His body lay
Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again
Sin's curse has lost its grip on me
For I am His and He is mine
Bought with the precious blood of Christ
This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Can ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I'll stand
Happy Father's Day, Abba! What gift can we possibly give you that would mean anything — except to love you with all our hearts, our minds, our strength?
posted by Threez at 9:52 AM
1 Comments:
Hi, found you through a comment you made on Cowboy Caleb's, to which I responded. We work in the same industry, so it's quite possible that we know each other in real life. :)
Post a Comment
<< Home