Happy Father’s Day to all the dads and granddads! As you know, today is very special to me because I have such a passion for fatherhood and for seeing men operate in the role that God has designed for them.
William Wordsworth said, “Father! – to God himself we cannot give a holier name.” How right he is. There is no more sacred or powerful office in the world than that of a father. Fathers shape societies, because as the family goes, so goes the society, and so goes the world. When we look back on history, the civilizations that flourished had strong multigenerational thinking and children were not so much taught as they were given examples to live by. Men lived and had their children walk with them through life. Men modeled what it meant to be a strong, honorable, upstanding person.
Scripture makes it clear that true revival comes when the hearts of fathers turn to their children and hearts of children turn to their fathers. Man of God, you can make a huge impact in this world for Christ. Perhaps you will not see that impact in your lifetime. Like Moses, perhaps you may simply provide the foundation for your children to cross over into the promised land. But by modeling Godliness and by being the priest and the prophet in your home you can initiate a sequence of events that yields generations and generations of soldiers of the Cross! Make no mistake: As a father you ARE a leader. The only question is whether you will lead well or lead poorly. Your children WILL be impacted to their core by your life. The only question is whether that impact will bring them closer to their Heavenly Father and equip them for impact or drive them away from God and wound them forever.
May we, as men, realize the huge power and potential that is bestowed upon us by our Heavenly Father, and may our greatest ambition be to say, with the Apostle John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.”
Happy Father’s Day!
Amen