Fathers

Colossians 3:21

“Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”

I became a dad at age 27, and was ready for the task, wrong, I did not have a clue about being a dad.  My model was more of an absentee dad, when he was home; he often was sleeping because he worked shift-work.  He had a second job in sales to pay off mother’s medical bills, and when he was home and with the family he was more like the authority figure than a dad.  Now before you think I would exchange him for your dad, guess again, he was a man who loved God, and did the best with what knowledge he had on being a dad. 

My model was dad, and at 27 it was not the model I wanted for my little girl.  But like dad I needed help!  If you are reading this, and are a young dad, let me encourage you to find a “Men’s Fraternity” group and sign up, it will give you the insight and information on how to change the pattern that you grew-up under, and how to be a dad who does not exasperate your children, but has patience and love. 

As a dad you were called to nurture your child!  As dad, to those young eyes of your child, they long for your time, your acceptance or approval, and your actions and words can instill fear or hope.  We have a good word from Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” 

Often, we dads forget that our child is just like us, they have a personality that is being developed and it is dad’s job to be an “as you go dad.”  What do I mean by “as you go dad,” he does the following; “You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down and when you rise." (Deuteronomy 6:7)  What is being referred to: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.” (Deuteronomy 6:5) 

Dads you made know a lot about God, but to be an “as you go dad” you must know God, you must love the Lord your God with your total person; mind will and emotions.  If you find you only have information about God, but a desire to have a personal relationship with Him, begin reading the gospel of John and ask our Father in heaven to show you how to know Him.  If you’re a dad like I was who just had a lot of the past messing with your mind, ask the Lord to put men around you that are doing a better job of being a dad, and please find a “Men’s Fraternity,” it is more than just a rally or a Bible study, Men's Fraternity provides men with an encouraging process that teaches them how to live life, how to attain authentic manhood.

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice