And one of the leaders of the synagogue named Jairus came and when he saw him fell at his feet and begged him repeatedly, ‘My little daughter is at the point of death. Come and lay your hands on her so that she may be made well and live.’" (verses 22, 23) Now that is a desperate dad, would you agree? A desperate dad, but a great dad, for he was a dad who was giving himself for the well-being of his daughter.
Now I don’t usually do this, but it’s Father’s Day weekend and I’m going to take the liberty to speak as a father. I trust that those of you who are not fathers, in the mix of this whole thing, can hear the Word from the Lord.
Who we are and what we become has everything to do with our parents -- for the home is God’s design for human development. It is the place where we develop our self-concept. It is the place where we determine who we’re going to be as a human being. It has everything to do with self-image. It has everything to do with esteem, everything to do with the health in our relationships.
The home really acts as a mirror-of -self. When we’re about 18 months old, we begin to realize that we’re a separate person. Up until we are 18 months old, we just think we’re a part of the whole thing, but then we begin to realize, at that age, that we’re a separate individual, and we literally begin to become what we see. The home acts as a mirror to our identity. That’s a pretty scary thing -- that we literally become what we see.
The home’s also called a ‘skylight of heaven,’ for it is from our parents that we get our picture of God. A whole lot of our view of God has been developed by what we saw in our parents. Now that’s a heavy responsibility, right? I am speaking as a parent! My kids’ self-esteem, their self-identity, their ability to have health in relationships, their picture of God has everything to do with me. Parents, am I speaking to people who feel as I do? That is a heavy, heavy trip. How can I be sure, as a dad, as a parent, that my kids get the real deal?

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