Godly Dads posted by jwatson on Jun 08, 2008

I find it interesting how events align.  This morning the devotion from Dr. Kennedy’s New Every Morning (you can find it here) was on godly dads, in honor of Father’s Day, which is coming up on Sunday.  In this devotion, Dr. Kennedy quoted James Dobson when he said, “I believe…that husbands hold the keys to the preservation of the family.”  I couldn’t agree more.

But as a husband and a father, I can read that kind of statement and feel a bit overwhelmed. Have I done enough?  Have I trained my children the best I could?  To be honest, there’s some stress in this kind of thinking.

And to top it off, it isn’t just Dr. Kennedy’s or James Dobson’s idea. This thought comes from the Bible and is found in Ephesians chapter 6 and verse four. It reads, “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
Karl Marx once said that in order to take over any nation, one must create a breach between one generation and the next, preventing the transfer of strong values, morals and beliefs. We’ve certainly seen this happen in our own nation. But there is hope. The Bible says in Malachi 4:6 that God will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers. Fathers and children will bond together once again and we’ll see these values imparted from one generation to the next.  Sounds wonderful, right?

But, as I said,  I’m a little stressed over the idea of of whether I’ve done enough in the upbringing of my children in the fear and admonition of our Lord. Have we had enough Bible studies?  Have we prayed together enough?

This morning I got up early and took my children to the Miami airport to leave on a week choir trip to Northern California. They’ll sing in a number of churches and minister to people. They plan to assist in several ministries with some work days. Most importantly, they will build Christian friendships that will last the rest of their lives. And in the process, they’ll have an opportunity to share what it is that they have learned over these past 15-18 years.  I pray that it is a wonderful week for them and that they will see the glory of God in their lives in a very real and personal way.

I think the key thing beyond teaching our children the Scriptures and living out the Christian life in front of them, is that we as parents pray for our children daily that the Word of God will not be merely words to them but will be powerful in directing their steps and giving a life full of joy.

So as we get ready to celebrate Father’s Day this year, my prayer for all that are fathers is that we will be godly dads, passing on to our children the most important truths about eternal life that starts now and goes on forever.