Papa. Pops. Daddy. Dad. Tatay. Itay.
Iba-iba ang tawag natin sa kanila, pero natatangi ang kanilang ginagampanan na tungkulin sa bawat pamilya: ito ang pagiging haligi ng tahanan.
They are the pillar of our homes, and they’re the ones who always make sure that the household stands strong and firm against all odds. They protect, support, provide, lead, and love their families.
Sobrang laki ng role na ginagampanan ng isang ama, kaya hindi na katakataka na maraming verses ang about sa mga tatay na makikita natin sa Bible. Whether it’s about instructing fathers how to raise children, setting examples about how a good or bad father behaves, or God, identifying Himself as a father.
Marami pang examples sa Bible, but here are 9 verses about fathers.
- Fathers are compassionate to their children.
“But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him” (Luke 15:20, NIV).
The story of the Prodigal Son is a classic portrayal of a Father’s love. Kahit na tinalikuran ng anak ang kaniyang pamilya pagkatanggap niya sa kaniyang mana, sinalubong pa rin siya nang buong-puso ng kaniyang ama.
Ganito rin magmahal si LORD. Kahit na ilang beses natin Siyang tinakbuhan at tinalikuran, pipiliin at pipiliin Niya pa ring tanggapin tayo kung babalik tayo sa Kaniya. Walang halong galit, at ang pagkasabik Niya ay nag-uumapaw.
- Fathers want their children to be wise.
“A righteous person’s parents have good reason to be happy. You can take pride in a wise child” (Proverbs 23:24, GNT).
Natutuwa ang mga magulang tuwing nakikita nila ang kanilang anak na marunong pumili at gumawa ng wise decisions. Though the LORD is the source of all wisdom, fathers know that they have a role to play and a part in their children’s life that only they can fulfill.
- Fathers who care for their children discipline them.
“It is for discipline that you endure; God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom his father does not discipline?” (Hebrews 12:7, NASB).
Everyone makes mistakes, and all of us sin. Thus, all of us need to be disciplined, too. That’s why the writer of Hebrews encourages Christians, as followers of Christ, to treat difficult circumstances and our struggles against temptations as a discipline from our Father.
A father who truly cares for his children doesn’t tolerate their bad behavior, because it will eventually ruin them in the future if left unchecked and unresolved.
Like what Proverbs 3:12 (CEV) says, “The LORD corrects everyone he loves, just as parents correct a child they dearly love.”
So, magpasalamat ka, Breaker, kung dinidisiplina ka ng tatay mo. Ibig sabihin lang niyan, may pakialam siya sa ‘yo at mahalaga sa kaniya ang growth mo.
- Fathers like giving good things to their children.
“As bad as you are, you still know how to give good gifts to your children. But your heavenly Father is even more ready to give good things to people who ask” (Matthew 7:11, CEV).
Walang tatay na perfect aside kay LORD. But even with their imperfections, our fathers have the desire to give good things to their children.
Even though may mga panahon na hindi nila maibibigay ang gusto ng anak nila, fathers do their best to give their children’s needs and wants. At kapag naman kulang ang naibibigay ng mga tatay, si LORD na ang pupuno sa mga ito. Dahil makikita natin sa verse na ito na God is a much better father than any human could ever be. With this, you can trust that the LORD is willing to give you good gifts, too, aside from your earthly father.
- Fathers carry their children when they’re too weak to stand.
“Then I said to you, ‘Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The LORD your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the LORD your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place’” (Deuteronomy 1:29-31, NIV).
May memory ka ba na kinarga ka ng papa mo noong nakatulog ka sa sofa? Gano’n nga siguro ang mga tatay, kinakarga ang kanilang mga anak kung alam nilang hirap na itong makatayo.
God, as a Father, is like that, too.
He carried the Israelites out of slavery, nilabanan ang kanilang mga kaaway, nag-provide ng pagkain in the middle of the desert, at dinala Niya sa promised land.
When a child isn’t strong enough to do something on their own, their father can carry them through it. A loving father’s protection makes a child feel secure, and a child doesn’t have to be afraid whenever a father is around.
- Fathers comfort and encourage their children to live godly lives.
“For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory” (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12, NIV).
Kapag nahihirapan ang anak sa isang bagay, nagbibigay encouragement ang mabuting ama. Kapag ang anak ay nasasaktan, nagbibigay ng comfort ang ama sa kaniya. A good and outstanding father sets an example on how a child should live a life that is pleasing in the LORD’s eyes.
Paul, who wrote the book of Thessalonians, highlighted that this is how a father can love and lead his children: by encouraging, comforting, and urging them to live a life that glorifies God.
Ganito rin ba ang papa mo, Breaker?
- Fathers teach their children about God’s Word.
“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up” (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NIV).
Naisulat ang verses na ito pagkatapos na ibahagi ni Moses ang Ten Commandments sa Israelites. Though that was a long time ago, the heart of this verse should stay in the hearts of Christian fathers– that God’s Word should be a part of daily life, and they have the responsibility to teach the Word to their children.
- Fathers deserve to be honored by their children.
“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, NIV).
Parte ng covenant ng Israelites kay LORD ang pag-honor sa mga magulang nila, and this is also true to us. Dishonoring our parents means dishonoring God.
The LORD puts so much emphasis on this kaya makikita rin natin ito sa ibang verse.
Ephesians 6:1-3 (ESV) says, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. ‘Honor your father and mother’ (this is the first commandment with a promise), ‘that it may go well with you and that you may live long in the land.’”
And in Colossians 3:20 (NIV), “Children, obey your parents in everything, for this pleases the Lord.”
Walang magulang na perfect, at minsan, may mga pagkukulang din sila. But it doesn’t mean they’re not worthy to be honored and respected. We ought to honor our earthly parents because this is part of being a child of God.
- Fathers won’t leave their children like orphans.
“The Spirit will show you what is true. The people of this world cannot accept the Spirit, because they don’t see or know him. But you know the Spirit, who is with you and will keep on living in you. I won’t leave you like orphans. I will come back to you” (John 14:17-18, CEV).
Kung isa ka sa mga tao na lumaki na walang kinikilalang ama, know that you have the LORD as your Father.
Time after time in the Bible, mababasa mo kung gaano kamahal ni LORD ang mga fatherless. He defends, avenges, and protects them. Here are some verses that show how God cares for the fatherless:
“He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the foreigner, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18, NIV).
“You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless” (Exodus 22:22-24, ESV).
“Father of the fatherless and protector of widows is God in his holy habitation” (Psalm 68:5, ESV).
“For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in” (Psalm 27:10, ESV).
Happy Father’s Day to every father out there! We honor and love you, and we thank the LORD that you are our dad!
At sa mga tao na walang kinikilalang ama, know that you have the LORD as your Father. And what a blessing that is!
“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist” (1 Corinthians 8:6, ESV).
Message us: 0999-227-1927
Call us: 0931-805-0802.
Reach out to us: