Acts Chapter 13: Verse 1 (NIV)
Now in the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul.
As we celebrate Father’s Day today, what strikes me in this verse is that one of the leaders in the Church at Antioch, Manaen, had been brought up with Herod the Tetrarch. He would perhaps have had more in the way of material comforts growing up but I’m sure that some other experiences in the court at that time would have been unpleasant and unsavoury, and not the best moral example for a young man growing up. However good or bad his upbringing, somewhere along the way Manaen heard the Gospel and became a follower of Jesus.
Those of us who were blessed with loving fathers and grandfathers look back on our happy memories with love, and for those still with us, we celebrate all that they do and mean to us. Sadly, not everyone will have had that positive, loving father figure in their lives. However, because of the redemptive work of Jesus, we have the opportunity to be adopted by a loving Heavenly Father. Jesus told His Disciples, “…I am ascending to my Father and Your Father, to my God and your God.” (John Chapter 20: Verse 17). Surely that is something worth celebrating and giving thanks for today.
Dear God,
I thank You for the examples of fatherly love that I saw and experienced from my Dad and Grandpa’s, but I thank You too for the unconditional love that is available to whosoever believes in the work of Jesus, and the adoption by our Father God. Amen.