When You Don’t Have a Good Dad on Father’s Day

On Father’s Day, children of all ages hit the stores looking for cards that thank our dads for being loving and teaching us the important things in life. We look for ways to honor them. We express our affection and the debt we owe them.

But some of us struggle to know what we could thank our fathers for.

Some dads never made an appearance in our lives. Some dads are barely present physically, let alone supportive. Other dads might be known for their destructive words and the bruises they leave behind. Maybe they love their beer more than their babies or make it hard for us to believe that any man could be gentle and loving. They don’t just make us wonder if they love us; they make us wonder if anyone could love us. We hate this day called Father’s Day because it reminds us of the father we never had.

But on this day, we can still be encouraged. Though we may rightly lament the pain our earthly fathers caused (and seek help if we are in an abusive situation), we can also find hope in our sonship with our Heavenly Father. Though our earthly dads fathered us in sin, he fathers us in perfection and righteousness. We are not fatherless.

Read the rest of this article at The Gospel Coalition.