Back in the 1950’s, there was a popular television show, Father Knows Best. I don’t remember much about the show other than the opening theme song and the credits. But the title reflected a belief that I held, then rejected, and finally came to realize again that my Dad, Harry Monroe McDougald, most of time, did Know Best. Now, as a father and grandfather myself, more than 60 years later, I have come to see that being a father is much more difficult than my dad, Robert Young, Andy Taylor, or Ward Cleaver made it seem. And you know guys sometimes we are right; just sometimes. I often wished that God had given us a list of specific spiritual rules for being fathers—something like a set of ten commandments for dads—so we could just tick them off one at a time. Instead, Jesus talked a lot about his Father, his Father’s “kingdom” or “house”, if you will. His usual way was not direct, but in what must have seemed at times like a code, for he was constantly having to explain and re-explain these parables of the Kingdom.
I did learn a couple of things. First, I experienced from my Dad, grandfathers, and other men who served as father figures in my life—some who are still active—that we may never recognize how important TIME spent with sons and daughters may be. Charles Adams, the 19th century political figure and diplomat, kept a diary. One day he entered: "Went fishing with my son today--a day wasted." His son, Brook Adams, also kept a diary, which is still in existence. On that same day, Brook Adams made this entry: "Went fishing with my father--the most wonderful day of my life!" Second, what we are looking for is not so much a father who ‘knows best’, but a Father who ‘forgives best’. My Dad was not perfect. I wonder a bit when I see someone post on social media that their dad was “the perfect dad”. But some of my most vivid memories of my own father are framed by circumstances of forgiveness and acceptance, usually fairly quickly after I had messed up. I’ve shared this story before about the father in Spain who had become estranged from his son. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Javier, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday 800 Javiers showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. I hope you know that the Eternal Father has the same message for you. P.S. By the way, THANK YOU, Harry Monroe McDougald, for all the time and acceptance you showed this son of yours!
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February 2021
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Starkville Presbyterian Church PC(USA) Starkville, MS | Ron's Reflections |