“Thank you, Dad”

“Thank you, Dad”. These words can lift my spirit in an instant, filling my heart with joy and gladness, more so than anything else. The first reason is it speaks to my identity as a father in the natural world, which only came to fruition through divine intervention. Yes, it was a miraculous achievement for me to become a father!

Secondly, these words come from either of my children when they are showing their appreciation for something being done or happening in their lives. I love being a father and strive to be the best father I know how to be.

In an ever-changing world around us, men are faced with so many new challenges in raising our children. We are the first generation to parent with the trappings of smartphones and the internet. This has our children exposed to so much information and easy access to material that our parents were able to shield us from till closer to adulthood. I am very mindful of keeping an eye on what my children have access to on devices, and I try to protect their innocence for as long as humanly possible.

There is the stumbling block statement “humanly”! All of us can look back at our childhood and point fingers at the failings or absence of our fathers. It is so easy for us to see their shortcomings in hindsight; however, we will never know of their sacrifices. That fishing trip he cancelled to watch our game, or working the overtime to get out of financial difficulties.

Then there is the emotional hurt we hold our fathers accountable for. The beating or the rejection we faced from them. As young children we expect our fathers to know everything, so we hold onto that hurt and bring it into our own family. Often, I have heard these kinds of statements about men who are simply trying their best and made some mistakes along the way.

I can relate to all the aforementioned human issues, having experienced them and more. Furthermore, I am aware of fathers and grandfathers who simply weren’t alive to be an example to their children.

The Bible has become my manual on how to parent:

While reading the book of Hosea, I had a revelation of the Father-heart of God when Hosea is instructed to buy Gomer back: “So I bought her for myself for fifteen shekels of silver, and one and one-half homers of barley.” - Hosea 3:2 (NKJV)

In this story Hosea represents God and we represent Gomer, foreshadowing and telling the story of Jesus. Just as Hosea had to forgive Gomer for all her misgivings, so the Lord has done this for us. As sons we can forgive our earthly fathers and celebrate them when we see them as our Heavenly Father does, after all they are part of who we are as people.

A celebration moment for me was sharing at my children’s school devotion time recently. I spoke about hearing and seeing 500 men singing the National Anthem at our Promise Keepers Event. I was saying to the students and teachers how awesome it is that “God inhabits our praises”. I was encouraging the school students and staff to sing and worship without holding back. We concluded the school’s devotional time with a praise song to Jesus. There I saw my nine-year-old daughter and three of her mates let loose, dancing and clapping with the praise song. It was an incredible moment of rejoicing.

Gentlemen, well done! It’s Father’s Day. Let’s celebrate our Heavenly Father and rejoice in our blessings of being a Father, whether biologically and/or spiritually, and the great blessing we can be as a father, an uncle, a grandparent, a mentor, and a friend.

Blessings,
Peter Meyer

Carrying the Mission Forward

This Father’s Day, Promise Keepers NZ is standing with men across New Zealand. Whether working through addiction recovery, healing from father-wounds, or learning to lead families with intentional faith in Jesus.

Promise Keepers NZ is helping men break generational cycles and step into the freedom that Jesus has bought for them.

Together we can reach fathers and men who need it most. Support our work and donate today [HERE]

Join the PK Friday Morning Zoom at 6:30am as we dive into Peter Meyer's reflection, "Thank you Dad."

We’ll be exploring how we navigate life's challenges using Scripture as our guide, reframe our past experiences to encourage one another, lean into the power of forgiveness through the father-heart of God, and build authentic brotherhood as mentors, uncles, friends, and fathers.

Whether you are a father in the natural or not, every man has a story and a vital role to play in building strong communities. Come along for an encouraging morning of connection, reflection, and faith.

When: Friday 11 September| 6:30am-7:30am (NZST)

Where: Join us on Zoom here

Meeting ID: 890 3222 8562

Passcode: PKFriday

See you there!