Written by Missionary Bruce
“Our father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread…”
When I think of the Lord’s prayer, the word that pops out to me is the word ‘Father’. This reminds me that although we may have earthly fathers, we have a Father who watches over us and provides us with the tools necessary to develop into the best version of ourselves - if we follow His will that is. He supplies all our needs along with teaching us how to navigate in this world. Today I am going to focus on four things that scripture highlights about being a father.
Your father is your first teacher
“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it”-Proverbs 22:6
As Christ came to earth to show us the way on how to walk in righteousness, so should an earthly father train their child to do what is right. This scripture explains that when you should teach your child how to behave the right way (the Godly way) and how to follow the Lord’s commandments so that they will not depart from it when they get older. As a father it is important to be your child’s first teacher, to make sure that you are leading them to the truth.
2. A father should be an example
“Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart”- 2 Corinthians 3:3
It is very important for a father to be a great example. A child’s behavior depends on their parents’ ability to not only talk the talk but to walk the walk as well. This will show them that it is possible to do the things that they were taught because they had an example to follow. Jesus not only preached the Word of God but he also lived a life that was exemplary to everything that he spoke about. Continue to be a role model to your children so that they can behave in like manner.
3. A father should not provoke a child
“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord”-Ephesians 6:4
This scripture reminds fathers that they should not make their child(ren) angry on purpose. Just because you are a leader in their life doesn’t mean that you should abuse your power. Your goal should be to nurture and teach your child the right way. This will allow your child to respect you and look to you for help.
4. A father never gives up on their child
Jesus talks about the prodigal son and how the father still accepted his son back into his home after he decided to do his own thing and go into the world. This shows you that this father never gave up or turned his back on his son who was down and out. Instead of throwing his issues in his face, he decided to forgive him and welcome him back with open arms. We should display the same level of forgiveness that God displays to us daily.
Scripture tells us many things on how to be a great father but I wanted to share these four with you. As we celebrate all the great fathers out there, we want to take a special thanks to those who found it necessary to put Christ, the Father of all before themselves in order to be the leader, provider, and protector that God had called them to be. Fathers are very important to the development of a child, and it is such an amazing feeling to have Christ as the head of our lives. God Bless you all!