George Washington: Father of our Country

Within the annals of America’s presidents, there is but one name that has been chosen above all others as the father of our country, that of George Washington. Though there have been others of accomplishment and ability, including some of modern time, their contributions pale alongside those without which there would not be an America, and rightfully so.

But why do we call him the father of our country? Some might proffer that it is because he was our first president, and he was, but is this enough to endear him to us after more than 200 years? Some might add that surely it is because he was the commander in chief of the Continental Army that brought victory to our fledgling nation, but while this might be a better reason, to me, it still misses the fullness of what is meant by being a father in general, and the father of our country in particular.

Being a father embodies two concepts, the first of which is simply that without him, we would not be. This concept is based on what he did yet goes far deeper — it demands the acknowledgment for existence. The truth is that no matter what you think of your father, God’s process of procreation requires the uniting of two halves of DNA, without either of which you would not be. It matters not what you may do to try and rid yourself even of his influence in you life, for his DNA is impregnated into every cell of your body, and when you look into that mirror there are traits staring back at you that are undeniably his. Everyone has a father, and we owe our very existence to him.

When it comes to George Washington, there is no doubt that he was called the father of our country for this very reason, for without him, we would not be; not our country, not ourselves, nor anything we enjoy as Americans even today — it just simply would not be. This honor belongs to him because of what he did during the Revolutionary War. Though there were many other fine officers of his day, it was he who the rest of our forefathers placed their confidence in, and it was he who saw the battle through until the end. While it may be asserted that there were better military minds that could have taken his place, it cannot be proven because history has closed that chapter such that what might have been never will be. And that honor belongs to him because of what he did as our first president.

Though he is dead and gone, his memory deserves our honor because of what he did; we owe our lives to him.

The second concept is that of emulation: Like produces like; the apple doesn’t fall very far from the tree. While God’s procreative design hands down physical traits from parents to child, what I am talking about here is the natural tendency of children to imitate or mimic them. Of this, the Bible says the glory of children are their fathers. This is not to say that mothers are not important, but if you know anything about children, you will know that they do not view mothers and fathers in the same way, and this is God’s doing.

Children glory in the father because of who he is, and while fathers are many things, when the home is right you find the boys wanting to grow up to be like their dad while the girls want to marry a man just like him (that is, at least when she comes to understand that she cannot just marry him). What’s more, children do not easily turn from this, but when they do, they do so in rejection of who their father is.

And thus enters George Washington. As the father of our nation, what do you really know about him? Or rather, the little that you do know of him, do you do him honor by being like him? His Christianity can be attested to in so many ways. His high moral character has never been reproached.

I submit to you that George Washington is worthy to be called the father of our country because of the man he was, and that his life was such that we would do well to pattern our own after his. But I am sorry to say that America seems to have so precious few who even care about who he was, not to mention to think about emulating the high standards by which he lived.

And one more thing: Honoring someone by our words only is cheap. If we care not to bear that honor out in the performance of our lives, it is really nothing more than a slap in the face of the one we owe our lives to. And in view of what George Washington stood for, our patriotism hangs in the balance.

George Washington, father of America. Do you honor him today?

Ron Hamman is pastor for Independent Baptist Church of Wasilla. Contact him at 357-4229.