Happy Fathers Day to the Adulterous Fathers – We Still Love You

I admit, it’s a weird and unsettling title for an article. But I cannot sugar coat the meat of the message. So why sugar coat the title as well?

I say happy Father’s Day to you fathers who have and who are adulterous, not for what you have done or are doing, but because of who you are (a father) and what you represented to your children, ex wives (or current wives), in-laws, friends, and onlookers at one time.

I won’t lie. I struggle to even say this to you because of the unbelievable amount of pain you have caused your ex spouses (or current spouses), children, family and friends.

I don’t deny or pretend to ignore what you have done. Believe me when I say it is still very fresh in their minds as the day your darkness was exposed by the light.

But I know who you were.

And those things are and were as much real to your children and former spouses as the choice you made to walk away from it all.

At one time, you were a faithful husband, loving father, an example to others for what it meant to be a husband and father.

At one time, you prayed with and kissed your children’s heads at night, tucked them in, and then slipped into bed to hold your wife until you both fell asleep.

At one time, you were a hero to your kids. They looked at you and said things like “I can’t wait to be a dad like you.”

At one time, you had a doting wife who would brag to her friends and family about how amazing you were with the kids. She would say things like, “If only every child had a father like my husband.”

At one time, you were the spiritual leader of your home. You led your wife and children to the house of God every Sunday and led them every day by your example and character.

At one time, your children turned to you for wisdom, encouragement, help, or a simple call to tell you about their day.

At one time, you were doing it right.

I don’t know what happened or caused you to think that you were no good for this family or they were no good for you anymore, but they miss you. They miss you a lot.

They miss who you were.

Perhaps one day you will heed the voice of God and return to your family. Repenting of what you have done. Seeking redemption and restoration. It is there.

Perhaps one day you will drop your pride and stop pretending you’re happier without them. You’re miserable. They are too.

They miss who you were.

Don’t let another Father’s Day go by without doing what a father should do.

Lead by example.

The ball is in your court.

You might just be surprised at how you’ll be received if you come to them in the right spirit.

Don’t forget…God called Israel an adulterous people for chasing after other gods, and like them you have been adulterous by chasing after another woman.

But just as God forgave Israel and took them back, even after 70 years of living in captivity under the weight of the sin that put them there, you have a family who will do the same if you would only recapture who you once were and return.

Humble yourself before the eyes of God and the ones who love you.

That’s my one desire this Father’s Day.