What Makes a Good Father?

Honor your father and your mother. This is the first of the ten commandments that ends with a promise. This is the promise: If you honor your father and mother, you will live a long life, full of blessing. And now a word to you fathers. Don’t make your children angry by the way you treat them. Rather bring them up with the discipline and instruction approved by the Lord. Ephesians 6:2-4

Father's Day is right around the corner & I believe that you will enjoy this reprint from last year's Father's Day edition of Heart to Heart!

The perfect Father is perceived to be the most powerful, most knowledgeable influence in our lives. For daughters the perfect Father is the first man they fall in love with. For sons the perfect Father is a source of strength and someone they want to be like when they grow up.

The perfect Father is a source for honest and straightforward wisdom and truth. The perfect Father takes care of a child’s needs and fosters their interests. The perfect Father corrects their children when they are headed in the wrong direction and mete out appropriate discipline when needed. The perfect Father is the one who works 1, 2, or even 3 jobs to support the basic family needs and he never complains or suggests how hard he works to eke out a living.

No matter how insignificant or monstrous our problems are; no matter what time of day or night, no matter how busy he is with everything else, the perfect Father is always there for us and we know he always will be. The perfect Father saves us from ourselves when we start to make bad decisions for our lives and he picks us up and dusts us off when we ignore his advice and go through with our bad decisions anyway.

The perfect Father demonstrates the Godly way of living, models faith, and exhibits tenderness in the midst of strength. He speaks truth in all situations, and walks in wisdom concerning life’s hardships and decisions. The perfect Father demonstrates by living, the Lordship of Jesus Christ and instructs us in His Word and ways. The perfect Father saves me, rescues me, advises me, strengthens me, and counsels me.

Fathers have been given the honor of being called by the same name that Jesus said we could now call the Great and Magnificent Jehovah God…our Heavenly Father. Matthew 23:9 “…you have only one Father, and he’s in heaven.”

With that title comes a huge amount of responsibility. A young child when raised with a proper role model will see their first glimpse of the Character and Nature of God… in the life of a DAD!

We’ve spoken here of the perfect Father…However if you’re reading this, it’s a fact that your not perfect and that somewhere along the road, you’ve messed up on one or two (If not all) of the above tasks. If you made mistakes, trust in God and walk closely with Him, for Jesus is Lord “yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” Hebrews 13:8 This means He can go back an re-establish His Lordship in your children’s lives and wipe away the effects of our wrongdoing in their formative years. Trust in Him!

If you dishonored your father or mother make it right! Go before the Lord and get His Divine Strategy for renewing the relationship. Stop playing games; life is too short! Even before you can come into the presence of the Lord you must make it right with that strained relationship. Jesus said “ if you are standing before the altar in the Temple, offering a sacrifice to God, and you suddenly remember that someone (Father or Mother…anyone) has something against (Between) you, leave your sacrifice there beside the altar. Go and be reconciled to that person. Then come and offer your sacrifice to God.” Matthew 5:23-24

The good news is that since God has called you to be a Father, He also has given you the ability to pull it off. “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Begin afresh today! Celebrate Fatherhood.

I also thought you’d enjoy some of the universal language of Father’s…

"Were you raised in a barn? Close the door!"

"Don't worry ... it's only blood."

"A little dirt never hurt anyone ... just wipe it off."

"Who ever said life was supposed to be fair?"

"You call that a haircut?"

"Hey" is for horses."

"Turn off those lights! Do think I'm made out of money?"

"As long as you live under my roof ... you'll live by my rules."

"I'll tell you why ... Because I said so! That's why!"

"What's so funny? Wipe that smile off your face!"

"You have it so easy ... when I was your age... I had to walk to school in 10 feet of snow up hill both ways."

"What part of "NO" don't you understand?"

"I hope I'm alive when your kids turn sixteen."

"If you break your leg, don't come running to me."

"This will hurt me a lot more than it will hurt you."

“You don’t have to like it you just have to eat it!”