Happy Father’s Day!

For fathers, we know the drill. The day might include an oddly patterned tie (do we still wear those?), a strangely scented bottle of cologne, or maybe a card with heartfelt words. It’s Father’s Day.

Let’s save the comparisons with Mother’s Day for another time. Today is about honoring fathers—recognizing their unique presence, their strength, their quiet sacrifices and, sometimes, their misunderstood hearts.

Now, I’ll admit: for some, there’s a bit of a disconnect when it comes to celebrating fathers. Dad the disciplinarian? Sure. Dad the provider? Of course. But Dad the compassionate? That one sometimes takes a bit longer to recognize.

My own memories of my father run the full spectrum. His life reads like a time capsule of America’s complex history—pushing through discrimination, grabbing every opportunity not just to succeed, but, in the words of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., “to do God’s will.”

He lived with conviction and integrity—qualities I didn’t always understand growing up. But with time (and a little spiritual maturity), I’ve come to deeply appreciate the example he set. As the old hymn reminds us, “we’ll understand it better by and by.”

There’s a verse tucked in the middle of Psalm 103 that seems especially fitting on this day. While many of us can quote the soaring opening—“Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name”—we often stop there. But if we read on, we find this gem in verse 13:

“As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him.”

That verse hits differently when we think about how we see our fathers—and how we see God. The psalm is full of praise for God’s holiness and grace, contrasted with our frailty and mortality. Yet in the middle of it, God is described not just as omnipotent, but as compassionate. Like a father.

This isn’t a throwaway metaphor. In the ancient world, names—and titles—meant everything. They revealed identity, destiny, even divine purpose. Adam came from the ground. Eve was the giver of life. Abraham’s name marked a promise. Moses, drawn out, became a deliverer. And Jesus— “Yahweh saves”—fulfilled the greatest promise of all.

Then there’s the name of God Himself—so holy, so sacred, it was deemed unutterable. A name so revered that substitute words were used in worship. Because His name reflects His nature: infinitely holy, utterly other, and yet—astonishingly—compassionate like a father.

That’s what makes verse 13 so powerful. The same God whose name is too holy to speak… loves us with the tenderness of a good father. A God who sees our flaws, remembers our frame, and still has compassion. That’s love—multiplied by infinity, plus one.

So on Father’s Day, we honor our earthly fathers—the ones who tried, the ones who taught, the ones who sacrificed, and the ones we didn’t fully understand until much later. In doing so, we catch a glimpse of our Heavenly Father—the One who loves us more deeply than we can ever comprehend.

Happy Father’s Day to the dads, the father figures, and above all, to the Father whose compassion never fails.

Categories: Acts17seventeen

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Pastor Mark

Mark, the eighth of nine children born to Reuben and Henrietta Meeks—dedicated church planters with nearly 30 congregations established across California’s Central Valley—is a preacher's kid who grew up immersed in faith and service. With over forty years of experience teaching, discipling, and ministering to communities, including the hospitalized and incarcerated, Mark responded to God's call to pastoral ministry. He holds degrees in civil engineering and public administration, as well as a Master’s in Theology from Fuller Seminary, equipping him to serve with both practical insight and spiritual depth.