Almost any man can father a child, but that certainly does not make him a FATHER. Just ask the nearly 13 million single mothers trying to raise their children on their own according to 2009 U.S. Census Bureau statistics. If you are still not convinced, ask the 21.8 million children (approximately 26% of children under 21 in the U.S. today) who belong to those single mothers. The taboo subject of out of wedlock pregnancy of the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, and certain ostracism in the schoolroom, is now often celebrated and heralded as glorious with a feeling of liberation by today’s society. This is especially true of the family and peers of the young men involved; however, this alarmingly offensive trend comes at a great cost to all of those associated and society at large. Men, God’s Holy Word tells us quite clearly that this is NOT what it means to be a FATHER!
God informs us, “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and shall be joined to his wife, and then the two shall become one flesh!” (Italics mine). What God as the creator of all life has established from Genesis on is the rightly blessed family unit. It begins with a man and a woman marrying for the purpose of, then and only then, having children who will in turn populate the earth. Not only is marriage God’s necessary and blessed plan for men to become husbands and fathers, but also for us to raise godly children. Thus, the cycle continues not only of procreation, but the continuation of children who will become adults who love the Lord and want nothing more than to live for Him and His glory!
Men, in order to become real FATHERS, we must first love our wives just as Jesus loves His church, and show our children this model as God intended in our homes. Secondly, we must raise our children in the training and admonition of the Lord; just as the wisdom literature of Proverbs tells us that if we train up our children this way, when they are old they will not depart from it. The training is demanding and none of us are perfect, but we must spend our whole lives to this end. It doesn’t stop when our children reach 18 and/or leave our homes. We are fathers, should we choose to undertake such a tremendous task, for our whole lives. It continues from our children to our grandchildren and even our great grandchildren. This training the Bible refers to is simply that as we are teaching our children and loving and nurturing them in all their physical needs, we also teach them that there is a God who loves them and expects them to return that love with all their hearts, mind, soul, and strength. The only way we can instill in our children that kind of love for the Lord, an attitude of serving Him with all that they are and bringing glory to Him, is for them to see it continuously lived out by example in the lives of godly men. Then and only then can we truly be called FATHERS!
Pastor Scott
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