Another Hallmark weekend is nearly upon us. Father’s Day and days like it are great for some people. Those who have a Norman Rockwell life rejoice on days like this and honor “dad” with gifts, cook-outs and cards. However, the other side of these kinds of days are quite hard. There are some folks whose dads were not at all honorable, in fact some were abusive. The shattered dream of the happy nuclear family is hard for some to deal with. For some, their greatest blessings and memories are framed in family…for others, their worst memories and regrets are rooted in their immediate blood kin. What do we do? Well, first remember that through Jesus, God has promised to give us Himself as Father and a new family of brothers and sisters in the church. These new relationships are meant to be a blessing to us. We have many parents and many siblings in the faith. We have many children too and the family keeps growing. Second, we can become the kind of people that we either had or hoped to have in life. Too often we repeat the same mistakes of past generations when we have the resources to be different. A young couple from our church recently renewed their vows and made the GEN3 Commitment before their friends and faith family. They have made a public commitment to do all they can to intentionally pursue a godly life for three generations. They decided to be the ones that break the cycle of divorce and dysfunction so common in our culture. I’m proud of them and “for them” and pray many more will follow in their footsteps. This coming Father’s Day we’ll be studying what Jesus had to say about family. If we took His words to heart, it would keep us from idolatry on the one hand and ignoring those closest to us on the other. Jesus is smart, He knows what life is about and how to live it.