Fathers Day is this weekend. It also coincides with my birthday. So of course I always get those combination presents (Now I know how the kids with December birthdays feel. Okay not really). We usually associate Fathers Day with having cookouts and Dad gets a card and a new tie, and the like. But what does it really mean to celebrate fathers.

The quote from the movie Parenthood gives me pause when Keanu Reeves (sp?) character makes the statement that "...you need a license to drive a car, you need a license to fish, but any *@#%@ can be a dad."

However, to be a father, means to show unconditional love, just as it does to be a mother. To be a father means that we put our children's needs above our own, even when it doesn't seem that way. Being a father means sacrificing in order for our children to succeed.

While I don't always like using gender to identify God, however, at it's best this is why we have the image of God as Father. When Jesus prays, he calls God "Abba." Our equivalent of that word would be "Daddy." So on Fathers Day or Mothers Day or your birthday or any day in between, we can always be reminded that we have a God who will put themselves in a position so we, God's children, can always succeed. Thanks be to God our loving parent for this great gift of grace.