What a scene it was to see these four girls all seek to be as close to their father as possible showing great affection for him, as he showed to each one and all equally. For the children of three church leaders to respond to their fathers so lovingly speaks volumes of their commitment as Christian fathers.

Children’s reactions to their fathers in church have affected and blessed me.  Previously, I wrote about two pastors’ sons on two Sundays in church.  One is a White father with a Black adopted son and the other an Asian pastor with his Asian son.  Both sons expressed great affection for their fathers.  The first, 11-years old, ran up to hug his father from behind as he greeted those leaving the service.  The latter, 4-years old, couldn’t sit still and grabbed his father’s head kissing it several times. They were illustrations of how important fathers are to sons (Two Pastors, Two Fathers, Two Sons).

Well, lo and behold, on a recent Sunday, I was treated to another illustration of children’s affection for their father.  This time it relates to a father and a church elder with four very young daughters. They sat three pews in front of me.

When they first arrived, he sat down with one child on his lap, one sitting beside him on his left and two sitting next to him on his right.  The one clinging to him on his lap appeared to be the youngest.  One on the right stood up in front of him pouting, clamoring and vying to be on his lap too. She was perhaps the next youngest.  While holding the one on his left leg, he reached down to seat her on his right leg. He held them both tightly while they held onto him affectionately.  They looked so happy and satisfied. The two older daughters remained on his left and right.

Mid-service, younger children are dismissed to attend a pre-school class and return following the sermon.  Thus, those two youngest daughters left, and their two older remaining sisters sat on his left and right with his arms around them.  Lo and behold, they too eventually arose to sit on his lap—one on the left and one on the right.  What a scene it was to see these four girls all seek to be as close to their father as possible showing great affection for him, as he showed to each one and all equally. For the children of three church leaders to respond to their fathers so lovingly speaks volumes of their commitment as Christian fathers.

Each of these events serve as reminders how important fathers are to both daughters and sons.  Such affectionate and loving relationships are an inspiration to many of us—some even invoking relationships with our fathers so long ago in our lives.

One day as adults, they will remember such moments in church with their fathers.  I personally remember sitting next to my father in church on Sunday mornings.  I might not have been on his lap, but it meant so much to me to be by his side, as my brother was on his other side.

These fathers serve as excellent role models for their sons’ adulthood as men and an excellent role model for one’s daughters when choosing the type of man to marry.

Sadly, we live in a time when too many children are raised fatherless as a result of sexual promiscuity, indifference, neglect, divorce, and even incarceration.  Such children are missing a most important element, need, and person in their lives established by God in creation.

Christian fathers committed to their family, their wives, and their children prepare their children to know and understand God as their heavenly Father.  The love and discipline they pour out on their children to raise them in the Lord mirrors the love and discipline God, our heavenly Father, envelopes us all in.

“As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord
shows compassion to those who fear him” (Psalm 103: 13).

I’m encouraged and privileged to have observed Christian fathers and also church leaders mirroring the great compassion to their children and vice versa the children to their fathers that is indicative of our personal Father/child relationship to our Almighty God and heavenly Father.

Helen Louise Herndon is a member of Central Presbyterian Church (EPC) in St. Louis, Missouri. She is freelance writer and served as a missionary to the Arab/Muslim world in France and North Africa.