FLAWED FATHERS!

A WARNING TO CHILDREN!

Exodus 20:12 - Honor thy father and thy mother:  that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.

Deuteronomy 5:16 - Honor thy father and thy mother, as the LORD thy God hath commanded thee; that thy days may be prolonged, and that it may go well with thee, in the land which the LORD thy God gives thee.

Matthew 15:4 - For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother:  and, He that curses father or mother, let him die the death.

Matthew 19:19 - Honor thy father and thy mother:  and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Mark 7:10 - For Moses said, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Whosoever curses father or mother, let him die the death:

Mark 10:19 - You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honor thy father and mother.

Luke 18:20 - You know the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother.

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

A WARNING TO FATHERS!

Ephesians 6:4 - And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath:  but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

Colossians 3:21 - Fathers, provoke not your children to anger, lest they be discouraged.

HONORING MY FATHER!

My father was a hard working man who provided for my mother and eight of us, six of whom are his children.  When he married Eloise Hill McArthur, she had two sons, and I cannot recall him ever identifying them as "step-sons"; they were his sons.  To him, he had six sons and two daughters.  

In 1942, Horace John "Jack" Mutschler entered the U.S. Navy to do his part in defending our country.  Because he was a semi-pro athlete, the Navy sent him to Great Lakes Naval Training Center to serve by leading in recruit physical training.  He served there for the duration of the war, while his family remained in Hillsboro, Illinois.  

My father was an honorable man who taught us that hard work yields its own reward.  He taught us that racism and discrimination were wrong, and he showed us how a father is supposed to love his children.   And even though he often had to discipline us for wrong-doing, we knew that he still loved us - in fact, the disciplining itself was because he loved us; a truth which can be found in Hebrews 12:5-8!   I do not recall him ever going to church, but he was insistent that we went; he was divorced, and being a Catholic, he felt unwelcome there.  In his latter years, he was very much a student of the Bible, and he rejoiced when I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Savior in 1971.  

I wish I had been even a tenth as good a father as he was, but because I had some seriously distorted views of raising children, I failed miserably.  All I can hope for is that my children learn to forgive me someday.  Now that they are parents, I hope they see they make mistakes and wanting their children to forgive them, they understand that they need to forgive me.

I am writing this because my father was born on December 25th, 1913, and he would have been 105 years old this year.  I miss my father, and today, I find that I am now the oldest living Mutschler; which means I could soon give my dad a hug and tell him how much I love him!

REMEMBER CHILDREN, 

THE ONLY PERFECT PERSON WHO EVER LIVED WAS JESUS; 

EXPECTING YOUR PARENTS TO BE PERFECT, 

OR THINKING YOU ARE, IS FOOLISH THINKING - 

IF YOU DON'T BELIEVE IT, JUST ASK YOUR KIDS!