Megachurch pastor advises young adults to forgive absent, neglectful dads ahead of Father’s Day

As Americans get ready to celebrate Father’s Day on Sunday, a young adult ministry leader is encouraging Christians to forgive their absent fathers and others who have inflicted harm in their lives.

David Marvin, a pastor at Watermark Community Church in Dallas, Texas, gave a sermon Tuesday titled “How to forgive” before the church’s young adult group, The Porch, which ministers to thousands of young adults through live stream affiliations with 15 churches across 10 states.

“Christians are not called to just have the title of Christians, but the lifestyle of Christians. And Jesus over and over said: ‘If you’re going to follow me, you will forgive people.’ And I know represented in this room there’s a lot of pain,” Marvin preached.

“When we brought up Father’s Day a second ago, that’s not a day of celebration. It’s a day that reminds you of what you didn’t have or the terrible father you did have. … God wants you to experience the healing that happens when you decide to forgive, which is why over and over He commands it.”

He assured forgiveness can change the trajectory of someone’s life.

Marvin, who’s been on staff at Watermark for over a decade and has a biblical studies master’s degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, said many people don’t know what steps are needed to forgive. He believes there’s a lot of misinformation on forgiveness, noting that “forgiveness is not forgetting.”… (Excerpt from The Christian Post)