I read the other day that the official flower on Fathers’ Day is the dandelion. Why is it the dandelion? It is said, because the more it is trampled upon, the better it will grow.

     The following story was found some years ago Moody Monthly:

     A young successful attorney said:

"The greatest gift I ever received was a gift I got one Christmas when my dad gave me a small box. Inside was a not saying, ‘Son, this year I will give you 365 hours, an hour every day after dinner. It’s yours. We’ll talk about what you want to talk about, we’ll go where you want to go, play what you want to play. I t will by your hour!’"

"My dad not only kept his promise," he said, "but every year he renewed it – and it’s the greatest gift I ever had in my life. I am the result of his time."

     As we are gathered here on Fathers’ Day, we are mindful, as with the Mothers’ Day celebration, that becoming a father is much easier than being a good father. There are expectations that we have regarding what a father is to be, but all too often, we see that those hopes are unmet.

     In the story mentioned, we can scorn the hour given to this son. We can think that the father is not so great if he could only manage an hour of his time for his son. I think of two things: First, I ask myself how often I have given an unconditional hour of my time at a specific hour in a day, every day, for many years to my sons. Second, I think that if this father was willing to give that time, in all likelihood he gave other time as well.

     Now, the message this morning is not going to be directed at the fathers any more than the sermon on Mothers’ Day was directed at the mothers. Those things that I share today, as then, are to be heard by everyone. More, each one that hears the words shared this day has the responsibility to implement them.

     Look at 1 John 3:1 – "How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God!" The unfettered love of God that is poured out on all people is more gracious than we can imagine. When we consider this, Paul wrote in Romans 12 that it is logical that we should desire to be renewed in the spirit of our minds to be more conformed to the image of God’s one and only Son. The question that is before us as we look at this passage: What are we willing to do to express our gratitude for God’s love?

     In 1 John 2:7-8 we read – "Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining." What is the old/new command that is given us? It is found in the second chapter, but we find it again in 3:11 – "This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another."

     Now we need to pay attention to what John said say in the power of the Holy Spirit. The words that he wrote apply to all people (particularly God’s people) for all time. The words he wrote, he wrote to people that claimed a spiritual superiority over other "lesser" Christians. They didn’t believe that spiritual maturity had anything to do with childlike trust and obedience; instead, they pursued a lifestyle of self-indulgence that didn’t take into account the needs of others. They had a yearning for "spirituality" as long as it didn’t require obedience to the primary principle of godliness – "love one another."

     John compared those that thought they were super-spiritual Christians to Cain. Cain murdered his brother Abel because of jealousy, a jealousy that was born out of Abel’s acceptable offering to God and Cain’s offering that was not acceptable. Why was there a difference in the offerings given? Note in Genesis 4 that Abel gave of the firstborn of his flock but Cain only brought some of the fruits of the soil. We see here that Abel gave what was considered the best while Cain only gave what he thought was necessary. The difference between the two was the attitude of heart.

     It is the same thing in every generation. God is concerned with the attitude of the heart more than He is with the offering given. Remember the wealthy bringing their gifts to the temple and the poor widow that brought a penny. Jesus said that her gift was far greater because she gave her all where the others gave minimally of their abundance. It is here that we begin to know the truth of our Father’s love.

     Instead of learning from his younger brother, Cain became angry and ultimately killed him. Certainly, Cain was angry with His brother, but the anger he really had was against God. Too often, we find that our anger is misdirected in life. Those people that pay the consequences of our choices are not always the ones to blame. In fact, the anger we often display is anger towards God. However, we’re either not honest enough with ourselves to admit our feelings toward God, or we’re too frightened of what we think God might do if we were honest.

     There is an old saying, "The proof is in the pudding." If we claim to know the truth of the Father’s love then it is our responsibility to display that love. How is this love to be known and shown?

     First, we cannot be like Cain. Cain hated his brother because Abel’s actions before God, the sacrifice of the firstborn as opposed to Cain’s leftovers. Abel’s actions were righteous because his heart was right before God. Cain’s heart was not right before God so he didn’t give of the best and thereby proved unrighteous. In his envy regarding God’s acceptance of Abel, Cain became a murderer – it began in his heart and was completed in action.

     We are rarely murderers in the legal sense, but this does not take into account the heart. The person that claims to be a follower of Jesus Christ has passed from death to life and the proof of that is in the way that he loves. The person that does not love remains in death. Throughout this letter, we find that the person that does not love is actually bound by hate. The person that hates is a murderer, like Cain, and will not inherit the promised eternal life.

     How is this hatred shown? It is shown when we choose not to love in the manner that Jesus loved us. Look at v. 16 – "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers." If we read those words out of context, it seems daunting. Continue reading in vv. 17 – "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?" We cannot die for the salvation of others; this is not what Jesus, or John, was intending. What we are able to do is be willing to die to self. In other words, we must be willing to consider the needs of others and, when we have the ability, we are to do something to ease their burden.

     The difference between Barnabas and the couple Ananias and Sapphira was not that one gave and the others didn’t, but that one gave with the motivation of God’s love and the others didn’t. Both gave money to ease the burdens that others were experiencing, but the couple lied about their giving which made their gift unacceptable to God. This doesn’t mean that God can’t use the gift for good; it just means that the hearts of these people were far from God when they gave.

    Second, we must hear the words of John, "Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth." We must not be like Cain, or Ananias and Sapphira. Our love for God must be the motivation of our hearts. It is here that we will know the truth of our Father’s love. Another old saying is "A picture paints a thousand words." The story told at the beginning of the sermon told of a father’s love for his son. If the father didn’t follow through on the promise he made to his son the words would have been hollow. Because the father followed through with action, it gave the truth to the words spoken. In the same way, if a person confesses faith in, and love for, Jesus it is incumbent on that person to live a life that displays the truth of that love.

     In James 2:14-17 we read – "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘God, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."

     Let’s look back to the dandelion being the flower of Fathers’ Day. I can’t imagine how God can tolerate His people. We declare that God is love. We acknowledge that the love He lavishes on His children is unconditional and never ceasing. We sing songs that declare that there is no greater love than His. Why is it that the Church of Jesus Christ so often belies the reality of the love it has received? In Hebrews 10:26-30, the author states that the one that continually sins after receiving the knowledge of the truth effectively tramples the Son of God under foot, and there is nothing to be expected except punishment.

     I believe that this deliberate sinning is not just an issue of morality – in the sense that we are actively being disobedient to the Ten Commandments. I believe that it refers to something subtle. By being subtle, I don’t mean that God’s word is sneaky or deceiving. However, it does show the subtlety of sin. We want to think of sin and evil as something that is blatant and disregards the rights of others and the law. The reality is that sin proceeds from, is given birth, in the heart of humans.

     Having said that, I believe that the deliberate sinning referred to can have a wider application, and it is the application that Jesus gave to the Law when asked which was the greatest. In Matthew 22:37-39 we read – "‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all you soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’" If we do love in the manner that God has ordained then we must infer that the love of God is not really in us. If the love of God is not in us, then we are still in our sins and there is no hope of salvation.

     Knowing the truth of our Father’s love should set us free to love in a way that is beyond our imaginings. How is this so? Consider the fact that there is not one person that can love in the manner that our Lord has loved us. No matter how we wander from the truth, or trample on the truth, God’s love is always with His children. We can’t earn a place in God’s presence; our presence was secured by the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross.

     Knowing the truth of God’s love gives us the confidence to stand before God knowing that there is no condemnation for those found in Christ Jesus (Galatians 5:1).

     1 John 3:19-20 – "This is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything." We know that we belong to the truth when we truly love God and one another. There are times when we will feel that we have not done enough, but if we look to our Father in heaven and know that we have done all that we can do in that moment, then we can trust that God knows us too. In fact, God knows everything and is greater than our hearts. We face times when we feel that we have not done enough; there are also times when we believe that there is something more that could have been done. When we are under this self-critical introspection, we must commit it to the Lord.

     How is it that we determine whether, or not, we are walking with God? Read 1 John 3:21-24. "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. Those who obey his commands live in him and he in them. And this is how we know that he live in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us."

     Two things are required for our salvation to be secure – believe in the name of God’s one and only Son, and love one another. Both are born out of the love that the Father has for us. Both are the security that we have in Him.

     If we love God, then how are we to display that love to show that we know the truth of our Father’s love? Look at those that you know that do not know that same truth. Have you done all that you can to show them your Father’s love? Look at those that are needy, whether in our own neighborhoods or in our global community (here I’m thinking most specifically about Haiti). Have we done all that we are able to do to show the love of our Father for those in need? If the Father’s love is truly in us, we can say that we have confidence before God that we’ve done His will. However, if we find that we are still lacking in what we have given, we have not given enough.

     This is very difficult to say because it flies in the face of self-interest. We have grown up in a capitalist society with a "Me first" mindset. I believe that we have, in many ways, done well as a church to reach out to the needs of others. I say that, though, with a reminder that I believe that if every person in the church participated to the best of the gifts that God has given, then there is much more that could be done.

     As we get to know our Lord Jesus better each day, I ask that each person take the time to ask the Lord to let His light shine in your heart. The reason for this: That we may truly know the truth of our Father’s love. As each person gets to know that truth more each day, I believe that we will grow in the grace of giving even as He gave His life for us. As we give from the outpouring of love in our hearts from God, many will come to the knowledge of the salvation of God only found in Jesus Christ.

     In all these we will see God our Father in heaven glorified; we will see more intimately the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us individually and corporately; and, we will see the hastening of the Day of the Lord when Jesus will return in all His glory. AMEN!

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