This is my first Father’s Day without the presence of my earthly father. He passed on December 16th 2022. He passed into glory with me holding his hand, a moment I count as a great blessing from the Lord to have been near him as he went home to be with the Lord. But what now for me on this Father’s Day, where I can no longer send him a gift or call him on the phone or make a trip to be with him on this day? At first glance it seems so sad for me, and I suppose I could fall into that, but I refuse to do so. First, I think I should be blessed to have had such a great dad and an example that many kids I know do not have. I was able to enjoy my dad for 57 years and me being the youngest of his five children I count that a great blessing. Secondly, my dad did not leave me but a very small inheritance to be specific, a Winchester lever action 308! But what my dad did leave me was a very large godly heritage! A heritage is not something you actually receive from someone, it is something that you were able to watch in someone’s life.
I watched my dad love the Lord and it brought me to love the Lord, I watched my dad love my mother and it brought me to love my wife. I watched my dad love and stand by his family, and it brought me to love and stand by my family. I watched my dad take all of us kids to church every Sunday and it has brought me to take all of my children to church on Sunday. I watched my dad live by faith and stand on the gospel of Jesus Christ all his life and it has brought me to commit to do the same. No inheritance can do that, but a heritage that’s the gift of a father to his family!
So, on this first Father’s Day of mine I want to praise and thank my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the man I can still call my dad who is still having a massive impact on my life today! Hebrews 4:11 “Though he is dead, he still speaks.” Love you dad! Pastor Mark, the son of John William (Bill) Morton