Week One: Day Seven

The Story

There is no word that brings more comfort and pain in Anna’s life than father. Anna’s dad was both aloof and around during her teen years. It depended on the season and her dad’s depression.

It was when Anna met pastor Jordan that she realized what a father figure could be. Pastor Jordan had three kids of his own and was the youth pastor for over a hundred middle school students. It was in middle school that Anna’s mother and father separated. Pastor Jordan welcomed Anna over to his home often during the terrible months of the divorce.

Anna remembers the day when her dad walked out on her family. He said that he had lost faith in God, lost faith in Betsy, his wife, and even lost faith in Anna. The wounds would be deep and long-lasting.

When Anna was around Pastor Jordan, she saw a man who loved his wife and children despite any shortcomings that they had. Pastor Jordan’s wife was an absolutely dreadful cook, yet Pastor Jordan always had something polite to say about the meal that was presented. The day that Anna’s father walked away, she went over to Pastor Jordan’s house. Pastor Jordan worked hard to help Anna not let bitterness creep in. He helped her to understand that the only perfect father is in heaven and each of those on earth are but fragile images of the real Father.

Years later, Anna was able to talk to her father. She phoned him to tell him of the great work of forgiveness that had gone on in her heart. She wanted him to know the importance of his role in her life even today. She spoke to him words of restoration. Though she felt more like the adult than him, Anna helped lead her dad back to the Lord.

The Devotion

Godly fathers matter greatly in the lives of their children. Here’s a quote from a research study noted in Tender Warrior by Stu Weber:

“The impact of a father is no different in Christian homes. One startling bit of research conducted by the Christian Business Men’s Committee found the following: When the father is an active believer, there is about a seventy-five percent likelihood that the children will also become active believers. But if only the mother is a believer, this likelihood is dramatically reduced to fifteen percent.” -Keith Meyering, in Discipleship Journal, issue #49, p. 41.

While Weber’s point in noting this study is not to belittle motherly Christian influence, his point is clear: God designed the family unit to be led by a Godly husband and father. The father should lead with tender love and care for his family. He should never be domineering. If this is the case, the mother and children have nothing to fear in his leadership.

There may be no greater word in our language than dad. Most of us learn it first when we are just beginning to speak. We say “Da-da” and begin an acknowledgement of a relationship with the first person with whom we bond outside of the womb. More than a word, the impact throughout life is indelible. The word dad spans across generations. A forty-year-old daughter will still call her seventy-five-year-old father, “dad”.

The Bible notes a beautiful hierarchy that shows fatherly responsibility: “I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God” [1 Corinthians 11:3]. Also, “For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior” [Ephesians 5:23].

The reason that these two passages sound counter-cultural today is because men have fallen down on their job. The idea being recommended is not that men are not to be domineering, but rather that they are to be like Christ. They are to lay their lives down for their bride. If all men everywhere lead like this, we would be more apt to ascribe to this hierarchy more readily.

To be a Godly father begins by being a role model husband. If we can demonstrate to our children a pure and God-honoring love for our wives, children sense it. In the hierarchy we have been discussing, while children are not mentioned, they are sure to directly follow next. Love flows from God to God-fearing fathers, to God-fearing mothers down to their children.

Men, determine today to be Godly fathers. Women, determine today to support your husband no matter who he is. Begin to see him for what he can become even if there are still great hurdles left to be jumped. Men desire respect; women desire love. They are two separate but equal needs. (Read Love & Respect by Emerson Eggerichs)

God will gladly give to those who ask [Matthew 7:7]. If this is a struggle for you, ask. If you are currently winning, take your relationship as father or mother to the next level. We need Godly fathers; we need Godly mothers; now more than ever.

The Bible

Jeremiah 29 | John 4 | Philippians 4

The Prayer

“Dear Lord Jesus, I bless my own father today. It doesn’t matter to me if he was a consistent or inconsistent leader in my life. I bless him today. Now I pray that You would help me to identify my role in my home. May I live with a strong awareness of how You are calling me to live. I know that You have given me great plans: Plans to prosper me and to give me a hope and a future. May I live in obedience to Your Word, receiving all You have for me. In Jesus’ name, amen.”

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