June 18, 2026 - Good Morning! It’s Thursday, June 18.
Well, another Father’s Day is on the horizon. I’m sure you’ll take the opportunity this Sunday to thank your dad, or remember him. I’m taking that opportunity today, because on June 18, 1913, Travis Lamar Mathis was born. Sometimes my dad’s birthday would fall on Father’s Day - only one necktie or bottle of cologne that year!
It goes without saying (but I’ll go ahead and say it) that we dads continually get the short end of the stick. On Mother’s Day, moms receive lavish gifts of jewelry, bouquets of flowers, spa treatments, and the like, while fathers have to make do with just a card or a phone call, or maybe an all-in-one combination pocket knife, screwdriver, flashlight, and toothpick. But we’re used to it. And, as always, we bear this annual humiliation with quiet grace and selfless good humor.
Seriously, my father was a true example of graciousness and unselfish service. He was the pastor of the same church for 54 years - a record in the Southern Baptist Convention. He loved his congregation, constantly visiting in homes and hospitals. He loved to preach, speaking without any notes, and commanding the pulpit. And He loved the Word, committing much of it to memory. This reputation brought him an apt nickname - “The Walking Bible.”
My father was never a famous minister like Billy Graham, although he shared the stage with Graham at a preaching conference once. He had many opportunities to move to larger, more prestigious, higher profile churches. But he never felt God’s call to do that. He was loyal to his calling. He was a faithful servant. And in 1995... the Lord called His servant home.
Meet you back here tomorrow,
David
cindertex50@yahoo.com
