There is no doubt how important the role of a mother is in a child’s life. But, the father has an equal responsibility to raise that child. In today’s world, where there are so many single-parent families, absence of father is a significant factor in many of the issues in our culture such as alcohol, and drug abuse. The Bible holds the father responsible for the children’s walk with God. He is the priest of the family and thus accountable for the whole family. For those of you who read the mother’s day teaching and recall the message, we looked at Jochebed, Moses mom and the parenting lesson she taught us. For those you of who did not read, here is the link The Love Of Godly Mother Mother’s day sharing
We talked about the potential she saw in Moses, the difficulties he faced, and the protection he needed. I had left off the writing at how we provide covering for our kids, and for that, I want to talk to you about a father who teaches us a valuable lesson on being a Godly man, a prerequisite for being a GOOD FATHER. His name is Job.
1There was a man in the land of Uz, whose name was Job; and that man was blameless and upright, and one who feared God and shunned evil. Job 1:1
Job is the oldest book in the Bible and Moses, likely wrote it. In the very first verse, we see Job was upright, and blameless. This does not mean he was sinless as nobody can claim that. But, he was a man of a character and integrity. People with integrity are mature without hypocrisy, and at time of trouble, they do not sway from the truth no matter what the consequences. Job maintained his integrity during his ordeal, and God vindicated him.
Secondly, Job’s foundation was God. He feared God and Shunned evil. The fear of God is not as we may fear earthly authority who rules over us but rather fear out of respect. Respect that leads to obedience. We respect and obey God, not because of fear of hell, but because the relationship is so precious to us that we do not want to do anything to disappoint our father in heaven. As we continue to read, we see Job was a wealthy man and was blessed with many children. The fact that children often celebrated the feast together is a testament to Job as a father. They enjoyed each other’s company. Job also gives all glory to God for his earthly blessings (verse 21), and he used his wealth to help others ( 29:12). In all that happened, Job had the right perspective. He did not curse God.
As fathers, we can learn so much from Job. Are we men of integrity? Do we shun evil? Or are we men who are willing to compromise for small financial gain? It could be as small as taking supplies from the workplace. We tell our children what is a priority for us by our action, not our words. Is your relationship with Jesus, your first priority? Or if work comes calling where you have a chance to earn extra, God is put on the back burner? Do our children know that “WE FEAR GOD?” I like to think, Job’s kids had no doubt what was a priority in his life. As a father, who do you give credit to for earthly blessings you have? Do you attribute your success to education? Hard work? Financial planning? We ought to make sure our children know without God; all our toil is in vain ( Psalm 127). We as Christian father must know who is the source of all we have and who provides all our needs.
Thirdly, Job did not sit on his wealth, but he helped the poor and needy. We are told to be generous givers. We are to help those in need. If we want our children to learn to share and be thankful for what they have, It is our responsibility to teach them in action. I am not talking about giving donations to the church where you receive praises, But simply helping someone in need. Have your kids seen you share?
Lastly and most importantly, Job prayed for his children. As I wrote on Mother’s day, Moses was put in ark much like Noah’s ark, lined with pitch. Yes, we want to protect our kids from all the evil in the world, many of us would like to lock them up in the home if we could, keep them in a bubble and protect them from all the harm but isolation is not a solution. Instead, we should insulate them from the world. How do we do that? Job offered an individual sacrifice for each of his children. It was a time-consuming task to sacrifice a bull for each one of them. This is one of the best lessons we can learn from Job. Of course, we don’t offer a sacrifice anymore, but we can pray for our children. We can pray a blessing on them. Prayer is how we insulate them from all the wickedness of this world. I am sure most of you are excellent fathers, but I believe we can do better. How about we sacrifice a few minutes of TV time or time we spend on social media and take that time to pray for our children. I know, I certainly can do better in that area. As we celebrate another father’s day, let’s examine ourselves, and if we find ourselves lacking in our parenting, let us correct it. If we just seek help from God, he will direct us, teach us, and strengthen us to be a better father. We can not change our past failures but Will you please join me in making a pledge today that we are going to be men of integrity, we are going to make our relationship with Jesus top priority, we will be generous and give glory to God for all our blessings. And, most importantly, Please commit to pray for your children daily. Prayer is the best protection for our children and the most lethal weapon against Satan we have. Let’s use it. I wish you all a very HAPPY FATHER’S DAY.
P.S. The best father’s day gift you can give our father in heaven is to ACCEPT Jesus if you have not yet done so.
only savior jesus 