Today we celebrate “Fathers’ Day”. I am sure fathers will not mind being celebrated daily. We are grateful to God for the great dads in our lives. And as we praise God for the gift of godly fathers, we are fully aware that not every person has had the benefit of having a dad that truly deserve the distinction of being “a great Dad”. But, for all the dads out there who truly and honestly seek that distinction of being a godly example and dedicated caregiver to their children, we pray that the end of it shall be greater than the beginning for you and your children. We are fathers for a purpose and that purpose is to help raise godly children. Be encouraged and know that the God who has called us into this divine and high calling shall also prepare us to answer it successfully.
The reality of life is that there are people who are becoming fathers but are not ready to be fathers. There are people who do not even understand what it means to be a father. Our role as fathers is to lead our family into a communion with the Lord almighty. It is definitely not an easy task, but it is a role that the Lord has destined for us as Fathers. The Bible tells us in Genesis 18:19 – “For I have chosen him, so that he will direct his children and his household after him to keep the way of the LORD by doing what is right and just, so that the LORD will bring about for Abraham what he has promised him.” It seems to me that if we want our destinies to be fulfilled, we must be about the work the Lord has appointed for us. If you direct your household and your children after the Lord, then He will bring about what he has promised you. Raising children can sometimes be stressful. The remedy is to always seek for strength from the Lord. He chose us and He will equip and strengthen us for the task at hand.
Knowing we are called for a purpose; we must live and act purposefully. The Word of God teaches us in Proverbs 22:6 to “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” If we are going to achieve the task the Lord has given to us, we must do so when the children are still young. Children are a lot easier to mold in their younger years and have a better chance to remain with what they are taught. Children also catch habits much more easily than through teaching. They are keen watchers of what goes on around them. Whether we like it or not, we, fathers, are role models for our children. They catch our habits, and it does not matter whether those habits are good or bad. Children tend to model their lives after those of their parents. We have also inherited some of our parents’ characteristics and should expect that our children will inherit some of ours too. As fathers, therefore, we must be purposeful in how we act around our children. The ultimate goal is to raise godly children, so our attitudes around our children must always by godly.
We are never able to completely control what our children are exposed to in their youth. So, we must expect as fathers that while we try our best at home to model a godly home, their exposure outside the home may be to things that are contradictory to our plans for them. Thus, we must always make sure we pray for our children and seek the grace of God over their lives. We must pray for our children. We must pray and lift them up to God, so God can do for them things we cannot do for them. We must also pray that they do not catch the wrong things we model for them. That when we do wrong, they also see it as wrong and not normalize it. Pray that every effort we make will be blessed by the Lord. The promise of the word of God is that these efforts shall not be wasted.
Proverbs 23:24 states that “the father of the righteous will greatly rejoice. And he who begets a wise son will be glad in him.” Aside from the benefits we drive from God being pleased with us for dutifully fulfilling His purpose for us, there are other benefits for us too. Children that are trained in the way of the Lord, and remain with it, will always be a source of joy for their parents. We must never get weary as fathers. Sometimes it may seem like these children do not care about what we try to teach them, but if I go by my own experience, they will ultimately revert to it. The wisdom of our fathers has a way of staying with us for eternity. We must therefore never get tired of always imparting godly knowledge and wisdom in our children because it will come in handy when they get old, and our God most high will be pleased that his purpose for us was greatly fulfilled.
June 20, 2021 – Pastor Simbo Odunaiya
