ON CHRISTIANITY

DEAR REV. GRAHAM: Did people in Bible times celebrate special days as we do, such as Father’s Day? I’m not close to my father (my parents divorced when I was 10), but I want to do whatever the Bible says I should do for him.

— S.McF. DEAR S.McF.: On Sunday we will be celebrating Father’s Day all across our country; many other nations have similar celebrations. It is a special day that has been set aside to honor our fathers, and to recall the important place they have had in our lives.

No, people in ancient Israel didn’t set aside a special day to honor their fathers — but the reason is because they didn’t have to. At the heart of their faith were the Ten Commandments that God had given them, and one of those commandments told them clearly to honor their parents — not just one day out of the year, but every day. It declared, “Honor your father and your mother, so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you” (Exodus 20:12).

Why is this important? One reason is because in God’s perfect plan, families are at the heart of every society, and ideally the mother and father are at the heart of every family.

Take time this Father’s Day to make contact with your father. No, he wasn’t perfect — but neither is any other father. He did, however, help give you life, and during your early years he guided you in ways you may never know. Let him know you love and honor him. Pray for him also, that he may put his life and his future into Christ’s hands. And may this be true of you as well.