A message for fathers (and men in general) on Father’s Day. The apostle Paul wrote in Philippians 4:5, “Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.” This is probably a difficult command for many of us, or at least something we might struggle to live out. We are so conditioned to so many forms of aggression, both subtle and obvious. Our culture is in so many ways two-faced when it comes to violence. On the one hand violence is deplored, outlawed, shunned and criminalised, but on the other, our movies, books and entertainment are dominated by stories and images of violence, murder and bloodshed. Our heroes are those who even in fighting against evil do so with expressions of power and force that are violent. We legitimise violence to overcome the powers of evil, matching “good force” against “bad force”. It seems that violence is the inescapable response to chaos and conflict.
But Jesus came to change all that… He shows us a way that is both gentle and humble, yet strong enough to conquer world empires.