Observation: First, I must state that Epehesians 6 is one of my favorite books in the Bible. Spiritual warfare, putting on the whole armour of God, etc...and then there is tonight's verse. It is specifically directed towards fathers. Whether you are a father at this point in your life, have been, or hope to be, I want you to take a stroll down memory lane with me. Did your dad ever do anything that just really got under your skin? You know, the kind of thing that made your blood boil, and you knew it was just a matter of time before you blew a gasket? If we are beign honest, I bet we can all think of something. Whether it was calling out every mistake we made on a sports field, yelling at us for our grades, and many, many other things that come to mind. Understand, that the issue at hand here is not the action, it is the attitude, the action, the motive in whiich it was delivered (or at least in my case it was, I will not suppose or pretend to know what your own upbringing was like) that proved problamatic. Many times as a young man (and though far less often, even sometimes as an older man) I find myself angry at my father for his actions. Tonight's verse speaks to me as a father and as a son, both from an earthly perspective as well as a heavenly perspective. The first half seems to give us license to be like "But Dad!!!!...." yet the 2nd part is the absolute key. Father's must not provoke their children to anger but teach them the discipline and instruction of The Lord.
Appliation: Father's, current, past, present, and future, we must focus on the second half of this verse as if our own live's depend on it. We must bring up our children in the discipline and instruction of The Lord. That means we must be the spirttual leaders in our homes, we must be the first to praiser God, we must be the first to acknowledge that The Lord gives and The Lord takes away, and still blessed be the name of The Lord. We must play the part of moses and navigate them through the Red Sea, teaching them how to control their grumbling. I could go on and on and on about this. The simple fact is, that if we as their fathers do not demonstrate the things of God, then we have failed! The number of children growing up without Dads in homes today is simply staggering...truly mind boggling. We must focus on bringing up our children in the discipline of The Lord. That alone may save not only thier life, but one day, their very soul.
Prayer: Daddy, Thank you so much for Fatherhood. Thank you for the heart that you have given me for dads. I'm praying for an outlet for the heart that you have given me to help other Dad's. Open doors and do what you do best. Alll for your glory. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment