Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth. (Ephesians 6:1-3)

The object of our love, worship, and honor is God, our Heavenly Father. Because we love God, we obey Him by honoring our earthly fathers and mothers. The principle of honor to our earthly fathers is enshrined in the Fifth Commandment, which appropriately appears as the bridge between our duties to God and our duties to man found in the two tables of the Law. Jesus Christ identifies the importance of the Fifth Commandment to individual and cultural blessing by pointing out that this — among all the commands of God — is the first command with a solemn promise attached: when sons and daughters honor their parents, it will be well with them and they will live long in the land given to them by God. Whenever there is a true revival of love to God the Father, there is a corollary revival of honor under God to our earthly fathers (and mothers!).

On this Father’s Day, I want to encourage you to love your Heavenly Father by honoring your earthly father. May God help us to rebuild a multi-generational culture of biblical honor for ourselves and for our posterity that it may be well for us and that we may live long in our land.