19/06/2022
*SPECIAL GOODWILL MESSAGE TO ALL FATHERS BY THE REV OGABA ISAAC OGABA*
Greetings to you all on this special and wonderful day as we celebrate Father's day 2022. To be a father is not an honourary title, it is a very special responsibility ordained by God. It requires leadership, accessibility, availability, accountability, love, care, exemplary lifestyle, provisions, protections, just to mention a few. The most responsible member of any family is the father (husband), because he represents God. Fatherhood is not a responsibility that is to be taken lightly because at the end of every fatherhood, one must give account and be held liable or acceptable where need be. Today as we celebrate Father's day, let us ask ourselves, if as fathers, we are living up to expectations. A father is not a lazy, careless, reckless and irresponsible person but someone who lives, works and walks according to God's will and purposes. A father must be able to lead his entire family in the ways of Christ Jesus and to make sure that every member of his family is prepared and ready for Christ Jesus. The first Minister, counselor, adviser and leader in every family is the father because of the responsibilities that abound in fatherhood. To be a Father sterns far beyond just being able to get married and have children, it requires a conscious life of responsibilities that will teach, guide, lead and provide positive godly directions necessary for the spiritual development of the entire members of the family. A father is a perfect earthly example of a role model for all the members of the family and the world around to follow after. As we celebrate Father's day this year, let every father take a careful stock of his life, make adjustments where necessary, review existing plans and make new plans where necessary. A father is always working and never goes on leave. He works overtime always and never requires any payments for his work. A father never retires and can never resign from his duties and responsibilities. A father is pacesetter, a pathfinder, an administrator, a prayer warrior, a Knight in shinning armour, a facilitator, a trainer, a manager, a watchman, a trouble shooter, a Bible study teacher, and a master planner. A father is not a dictator, an autocrat, a terror, a bully or a wife be**er. Fatherhood is a round the clock responsibility that must be carried out without complaints, and there is overflowing Joy unspeakable in true fatherhood. According to the words of the hymnist William Pierson Merill, 1867, "Rise up, O men of God! Have done with lesser things; Give heart and soul and mind and strength to serve the King of kings. Lift high the Cross of Christ! Tread where His feet have trod; As brothers of the Son of Man, rise up, O men of God".
Congratulations and happy Father's day to all godly fathers. Our lives are very good because we belong to Christ Jesus. Ephrathah.
