Hello again everyone.
June is finally here and we have been blessed with warm sunshine the last few days. Summer fun is also just around the corner. But first, we will be celebrating Father’s Day in a couple of weeks. Today I thought I would tap into the bible’s teaching about fatherhood and what it means to be a christian father.
So what is the Christian view of fatherhood? Fathers act as spiritual leaders in the home, offering guidance and serving as an example of godly living to their children. They provide for their families and protect them.
Why is fatherhood so important in the bible? The role of fatherhood originated from God Himself, our Heavenly Father, and is a divine role and calling. Becoming a father, stepfather, grandfather, or foster father is an opportunity to become like God, to love and care for children as God loves and cares for us.
Here are 7 characteristics of a Godly dad:
1) A godly dad knows his identity in Christ.
2) A godly dad leans on God’s word.
3) A godly dad prays for his children and wife.
4) A godly dad leads by example. 5) a godly dad seizes teaching moments.
6) a godly dad encourages children to look to Jesus for their identity
7) a godly father teaches his children God’s word.
What makes a good Christian father? Godly fathers provide correction. Hebrews 12 tells us that God always disciplines us out of love and we must strive to do the same with our children. Paul always encourages fathers not to provoke or antagonize our children to anger but to “bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord”.
What are the 3 main responsibilities of a father? Protector, provider and disciplinarian.
Finally, how does God define a husband? Simply put, a husband is one who is meant to be the provider, spiritual leader and head of his household for his wife. He is meant to use the inspiration of Jesus Christ to place the needs of his wife above his own in providing for her physical, emotional and spiritual needs.
As you read all of this, I know you can think that the Christian bar for fatherhood is set too high given the culture we live in today. My takeaway is that sometimes, as we live in this fast-paced world filled with the noise and confusion of what we think are today’s norms in our society, let’s consider getting into the habit of regularly stepping back.
Perhaps if we allow ourselves to find a quiet place, to sit and ask God in prayer “Lord, how am I doing, as a husband, a father, a mother”, then wait for His response, He will give us one. We can celebrate our successes as a dad or mom. Then with all the humility we can muster, ask the Lord for the grace to learn from our mistakes, to grow, to do better, and allow Him to continually walk along side of us, to guide us to be the godly fathers He wants us to be.
A little food for thought for this month. Happy Father’s Day fast approaching By My Side friends.
Love MJ. xo
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