Sapagkat kung pinapatawad ninyo ang mga nagkakasala sa inyo, patatawarin din kayo ng inyong Ama na nasa langit.

Mateo 6:14

Tuwing Father’s Day, sunud-sunod na social media posts and greetings ang makikita natin from our family members, relatives, and friends. We celebrate the lives and sacrifices of our fathers by blessing them with gifts or even preparing a simple feast for them. Honoring our parents, the essence of the fifth commandment, is actually the only one out of the Ten Commandments na merong kasamang promise. Sabi sa Deuteronomio 5:16, “Igalang mo ang iyong ama at ina tulad ng iniutos ko sa iyo. Sa gayo’y mabubuhay ka nang matagal at sagana sa lupaing ibinibigay sa iyo ni Yahweh na iyong Diyos.”

Pero what if we belong to a dysfunctional or broken family? What if we don’t even know kung sino ang tatay natin? How can we honor our earthly fathers who disappointed us, left us, failed us, and even those who hurt us? Can we still obey the fifth commandment?

It’s still possible to honor imperfect fathers and that is through forgiveness. But how can we forgive them? By accepting the fact that they are imperfect! We may not forget what they did but forgiveness can open the door for healing and who knows, someday we might still have a chance at reconciliation.

Sinabi sa Awit 145:8, “Si Yahweh’y mapagmahal at puno ng habag, hindi madaling magalit, ang pag-ibig ay wagas.” Forgiveness is possible dahil si God, our heavenly Father, ang unang nagpakita nito sa atin. We can still celebrate Father’s Day even if we have an imperfect family setup because we have our heavenly Father who is perfectly loving and compassionate to us, and He loves our imperfect fathers, too.