“Who’s your Daddy?” The question still gets giggles at our house. “Who’s your daddy?” The question is asked rhetorically by the younger generation as a way of asking: “Who’s your friend?” or “Who’s the winner?” or “Who’s the boss of you?” or “Who’s your better?”
It started around our house because of frequent telephone calls to my son, Yuri, from a life-long friend of his. The first words Yuri hears from his friend, Bobby, are, “Who’s your daddy?” Or Bobby will call Yuri at the office. It’s supposed to be a business call, but Yuri always knows who it is when Bobby asks, “Who’s your daddy?”
Years ago, Bobby welcomed his firstborn into the world. He was a father for the first time. He had to share the news. He phoned Yuri: “Who’s your daddy?”
“He y, Bobby,” Yu r i answered nonchalantly. “No… really… who’s your daddy!” Bobby exclaimed. Then his news came tumbling out. Still today, one of us, when we get Yuri on the phone, will be heard to ask, “Who’s your daddy?”
This all came flooding back to me as I thought about a scripture for a Father’s Day column, God being the Father of us all. “Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you…” (Matthew 5:44). It’s one of those hard scriptures. We usually read over it as fast as we can; then try to forget what we have just read. Why? Because, well, forgiveness can be a difficult task. Paul Samply, Professor of New Testament at Boston University speaks sincerely when he explains: “Repentance and forgiveness cannot be understood as fine-tuning; they are changes from the core of our being.”
Who are our enemies? We have a bucket full: political opponents, unethical business competitors, someone whose values are antithetical to your own, someone who vies with you for someone else’s affections, someone you believe has done you wrong, someone who’s offended your family, someone who’s maligned your nation.
Why should we love our enemies? If we’re going to pursue something so contrary to our nature and our desires, we ought to have a darn good reason for doing so. Jesus shares with us that darn good reason: his continuing words in the next verse reveal why we need to love our enemies: “…that you may be children of your Father in heaven.”
Clovis Chappel, a preacher from my father’s generation, once observed, “If these early Christians did have the hardest time of anybody, forgiving their enemies and praying for those who persecuted them (think of Roman Emperor Nero who burned Christians as garden torches), they also had the best time of anybody. Those of the world could find no other explanation but that they had enjoyed a few too many drinks: ‘These people are full of new wine’ (Acts 2). But from that intoxication they never recovered, and it did not leave them with a throbbing head. It rather sent them laughing and singing over all that hard Roman world.”
When I open my Word-Perfect to begin composing a column, the program asks me if I want to “Open an Existing File” or “Create a New File.” God may be asking you that very question: “Do you want to Open an Existing Life-File, to return to your old ways—carrying grudges, despising your enemies, limiting your heart and your prayers only to those who love you? Or do you want to Create a New Life-File, to begin a laughing, singing life as children of your Father in heaven? Who’s your Daddy?
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.