Feed the Hunger Anthology

to living as godly fathers. I am not suggesting that you will attain perfection, but I want to urge you to at least struggle in that direction. I have done a brief study of six fatherly attributes for you to think about and pray over, things that I hope will empower you to be a great dad to your children: Maturity: A father should manifest spiritual and sexual maturity (wisdom) through his masculinity. Twice, the Apostle John summarizes fatherhood with these words: “I write to you, fathers, because you have known him who is from the beginning” (1 John 2:13, 14).

Marriage: The father’s role is to prepare his children for marriage by demonstrating what a healthy marriage looks like. The long-range goal of marriage is the biblical reason given for a son’s leaving home (Genesis 2:24).

Messenger: Fathers are to be in lifelong communication with their Heavenly Father, spouse, and children as the God-ordained authority in the home (Proverbs 4).

Modeling: Fathers are to set a positive example of spiritual headship and servant-leadership in the home for children to follow, imitate, and emulate. The Apostle Paul was a good spiritual father who urged young Christians to follow his example (1 Corinthians 4:14–16).

Mercy: The authority of authentic fathers is never hard, harsh, autocratic, or dictatorial. His fatherly leadership is that of a servant to his wife and children (Psalm 103:13).

Ministry: God calls every father to be a full-time minister— not just the preachers, pastors, evangelists, and missionaries.

Just as Jesus was always doing His Father’s work, so should we (John 5:17).

These, then, are some of the major characteristics of a father as revealed in the Bible. The restoration of authentic fatherhood is the greatest need in our world today. There can be no more high, holy, or humbling calling!

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