A Look at Father’s Day
by Lt. Colonel David Davis
When I was a young boy, around 9 years of age, I first began to understand the concept of honoring your parents as unto the Lord. This concept came to me through Scripture, and I was so compelled by it that I decided to commit it to memory.
Ephesians 6:1–4 (NLT) says, “Children, obey your parents because you belong to the Lord, for this is the right thing to do. ‘Honor your father and mother.’ This is the first commandment with a promise: If you honor your father and mother, ‘things will go well for you, and you will have a long life on the earth.’”
In obedience to Scripture, that is exactly what I set out to do every chance I could get. I didn’t need a special occasion to be reminded about it; I just wanted to be faithful to the Word of God. As I reflect on that time in my life, I realize that the benefits of God’s promise were also on my mind — things would go well for me, and I would enjoy a long life on the earth. I was going to outlive my siblings and friends, which was all right with me.
I believe we all want to honor our parents for what they mean to us and for the sacrifices they made and still make to ensure that we have all we need to succeed in life. It is commanded in Scripture and is just the right thing to do.
The month of June gives us the opportunity to specifically honor fathers. It is interesting to note that the idea of Father’s Day was birthed on opposite sides of our country in the early 1900s. In 1908 in Fairmont, W. Va., a local pastor preached a sermon in honor of 362 men, many of them fathers, who had died in a coal mine explosion. The meeting was designated as the Father’s Day service. In 1909 Sonora Smart Dodd petitioned her minister and the Spokane Ministerial Association to hold a special service to honor fathers. It was instituted in Spokane, Wash., a year later in 1910 in honor of her father, William Jackson Smart, a Civil War veteran who raised six children as a single parent after the death of his wife. Sonora felt fathers should have a holiday like that devoted to mothers.
Like any startup initiative, there were the naysayers and the “I don’t want to be bothered with another holiday” thinking. But a few people embraced the idea and eventually it spread to several communities, even gaining the attention of President Woodrow Wilson, who in 1916 gave verbal approval but didn’t sign a proclamation for it. In 1924 President Calvin Coolidge also supported a national day of observance for fathers; however, it would take several more decades to receive official recognition, which came about when President Lyndon B. Johnson made a presidential proclamation in 1966, designating the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. It would take another six years before it was signed into law by President Richard Nixon, declaring it a permanent national holiday. It took a great deal of work, but a day to celebrate fathers was worth it!
So, let’s joyfully celebrate this special day in honor of our fathers, both biological and spiritual. I am grateful for the privilege of being a father and strive to model the attributes of my heavenly Father and the men who have poured into my life, including my own dad. I will celebrate my father by remembering his spiritual guidance and for being a great provider for our family.
And, as a father, I will prepare myself for more socks, ties, power tools, sports gear, and carrot cake.
