Is My Father Still Living?

‘Daddy, you must have really missed your father?’

‘Yes, I did. But he’s living in a better place now.’

It surprised me at first, as I did not expect it from him at this young age. He knew, in his mind, because he loves me too. We were hopping from one topic to another with my children, that day, as we were turning leaves of old pictures taken some years ago.

Reminiscences of my childhood days kept flashing in my mind. On the other hand, it made me happy that I got someone to ask passionately about my father. Then, we tell tales of the bygone years we’d spent with my dear father.

‘Why did you ask me that?’

‘It’s because I had missed you dearly when you are in the hospital.’

He was talking on those days where I had to stay in the hospital for a week or two due to my neurological disorder. Now I really know they had missed me. And, I can feel them. Yet we talked for a long time until we talked out of the situation, explaining the need and the benefit of being away in that manner.

My living being appreciated, as a father although unworthy of me, makes me feel good. On the flipside, it reminded me of my unfulfilled obligations as a father and as a son of my father.

We tell bedtime stories and whenever they wanted to listen. Here is one of the stories from the life of Joseph cut-short to suit them where we could learn lessons of life.

“Is My Father Still Living?”

The land was riddled with seven years of great plenty and another seven years of severe famine during that time. God has shown Pharaoh what to do in his dream, which was translated by Joseph with the wisdom given by his God. (Genesis 41)

As it came to pass, Israel’s households ( the new name of Jacob) was severely hit by the famine. They had to buy grains from the store of the Egyptians, which was under the authority of his long-lost son Joseph as ordered by the Pharaoh.

Joseph saw his brothers but acted stranger to them. He was examining whether they would manipulate the situation in their favor as they did earlier when he was alone. In the end, he made himself known to his brothers who once tried killing him and he forgives them.

“Is my father still living? He asked. Happiness was not completed without the father whom he dearly missed for a long in the land of strangers and foreigners.

My Father is Still Living:

Whatever status he may have reached, a governor in the land of Egypt, Joseph did not forget his father. He was happy to learn that his father is still alive. Real men long for their fathers although the way of displaying our affections and love may differ.

Fathers are a gift to their children by God. They should be respected, give their dues to proper treatment in the family and society. Fathers are the seed of life and a generation to come. A sane person cares and longs for their father even in the land of the unknown.

Fathers may possess a lower degree than us in the measurement of knowledge, yet they possessed wisdom which is beyond degrees. They lived by experience, they are given the gift of running a household in their meek and kind.

My Father Is Still Alive:

My father is still alive and he is heaven, as I answered my children. I will not stop my journey until I met him in the presence of the Lord. In eternity, I hope to meet him at least once more.

His footsteps are here to be followed. The whispers in the wind; the memories of our old house are very much alive in my mind. His letters and the condiments of his cooking still reliving in my mind.

Father is no more here on earth, for me. But he is very much alive in my mind showing me good signs of life. For those of us whose father had passed on, let’s accept truly in our heart they will not return here on earth. But let us be encouraged in the light of the Holy Spirit as our guide trying to fulfill the will of our fathers.

I wanted everyone to be given the strength to go on; not simply backsliding on the emotions of the past but to move forward. For those of you are dealing with torn relationships, there’s still time to reconcile with your father. Value your father, love your father, respect your father, reconcile with your father….. You know what to do, if your father is still living.

My Son Is Still Alive:

Israel could not believe his ears; they told him that his son, Joseph, was still alive. More than that, Joseph bother to find him out to let him live to endure the severe famine. He used his role in arranging a land which would suit his father’s household – Goshen, the pasture land.

Not only did Joseph find out his father; he wanted him to live nearby him. The long lost years cannot be recalled but at least for the remaining years, he wanted to live with his father. Not only his father but with his households. He made himself equally responsible for the well being of his father’s households. It is one of the great quality of a man of God, who had communion with God.

“So you shall tell my father of all my glory in Egypt, and of all that you have seen; and you shall hasten and bring my father down here” (Genesis 45: 13)
They told him (Jacob), saying, “Joseph is still alive, and he is governor over all the land of Egypt.” And Jacob’s heart stood still because he did not believe them. (v. 26)
Then Israel said, “It is enough. Joseph my son is still alive. I will go see him before I die.” (v.28)

The Living Father:

The sun’s going down the mountains,
Father’s home from the field.
He looks tired; his face pale,
Sitting nearby us until he dozed off
Watching us as we study
In the chimney lighted room.
He’s living in the house.

Summoned us in the living room
Father read from the Bible
Explained; abide in Him
Appealed my father in His sake
Thanksgiving prayer followed
Some dozed off in between
Waken to say the Lord’s Prayer.

My father left us for eternity
On that lifeless evening
His prayer his last breath
Yet father lived on in my heart
Voices in the air adore him
In the Living Father’s care
Beyond the blue, he lives!