Sacrifice- A True Father (Pt.2)
I would like the opportunity to continue my discussion on what a true father is from a purely biblical perspective. (I promise this installment will not be as long as its predecessor) If we look at the nature of God and the fact that we often refer to Him as "father", then we must to realize that it is infinetely within his nature to "love" because He is LOVE. A familiar scripture comes to mind in John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in Him, shall not perish but have everlasting life"
Now meditate on that just a bit. The Lord God Almighty loved us so much that He was willing to "sacrifice" His "only" son so that we would be able to have life eternal. Let's look at the word "sacrifice" for a minute. The word "sacrifice" means " to forfeit something for another thing considered to be of greater value" The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a necessary sacrifice for the sins of the world. He took the punishment that we deserved.
Let me ask all of you (that are fathers or single-mothers) who may read this, a very pertinent question. How many of you would be willing to sacrifice your only sons/daughters the way God sacrificed his? Needless to say, I'm sure not many. That act alone should make us realize the love that He had for us (the world and His son). How many of you could've stood by and watched your "only" son/daughter die a "horrible" death on a wooden cross by nails driven through their hands? Again, I say "not many", especially when he (God) had the "power" to change it........
My point is this. As fathers we are called to sacrifice our lives for our children and our families. But sadly many so called fathers don't see it that way. There are many fathers much like my own, who decide for whatever reason to walk away and live outside the God ordained family structure. I'll never forget my mom telling me that she never asked my father to leave, he decided that on his own. From what I understand all that he wanted to do was "sow is royal oats" without the responsibility of family. Boy, what a cop out! Thank Almighty God that I did not take that same road. Although I did come pretty darn close (Read: "A Changed Heart" from my July archived blogs).
I would be the first to admit that being father (or a parent) is a difficult one at best. Would I sacrifice my life for my children? Absolutely, without question.......The biggest problem is that many of these fathers were NOT taught how to be fathers at all. They simply took the path of least resistance. In other words, they became intimately invovled with someone that they had no intention of committing to and then produced a offspring that they don't want any part of. Pretty sad. I often wonder how much different my life would have been had my dad stuck around. Although he was never told that he couldn't be a part of my life, he decided not to be. But once asked me "if I thought he did all that he was suppose to as my father". Which I resoundly said "No, you didn't".......
Unfortunately in this day and age most fathers just don't get it. They don't think about the responsibility that comes with having a child. I learned by "experience", when my wife had our first child Christian Jeremy I knew nothing about being a father. I took all that I had experienced up to that point and incorporated it into being a father. Needless to say I failed on most points miserably. But at least I was there.
I have learned much in my 11 years and have much to learn still. I have learned the importance of fatherhood. I have learned the importance of having two parents in the home. I have learned the importance of family. I 've learned that if I had not accepted Christ as Savior, I wouldn't even have half the knowledge that I have attained thus far. Finally, many of the fathers that I mentioned in the previous have not learned anything about sacrificing for their kids. I mean there are many things that I would like to have, but knowing that my kids need things is more important than anything that I could desire. I love to be able to take care of my kids needs and see them happy. For a child, especially a boy to have a father to grow up with can make all the difference in his life. All children need some form of discipline and since most fathers are looked at as the main disciplinarian, it would only make sense for the father to be of great need in the home.
Ephesians 6:4 declares "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord". (Amplified Bible)
If the "real" fathers don't step up soon....We are going to have a very angry set of young men. Do we as a society really want that?
I think not.....
Now meditate on that just a bit. The Lord God Almighty loved us so much that He was willing to "sacrifice" His "only" son so that we would be able to have life eternal. Let's look at the word "sacrifice" for a minute. The word "sacrifice" means " to forfeit something for another thing considered to be of greater value" The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was a necessary sacrifice for the sins of the world. He took the punishment that we deserved.
Let me ask all of you (that are fathers or single-mothers) who may read this, a very pertinent question. How many of you would be willing to sacrifice your only sons/daughters the way God sacrificed his? Needless to say, I'm sure not many. That act alone should make us realize the love that He had for us (the world and His son). How many of you could've stood by and watched your "only" son/daughter die a "horrible" death on a wooden cross by nails driven through their hands? Again, I say "not many", especially when he (God) had the "power" to change it........
My point is this. As fathers we are called to sacrifice our lives for our children and our families. But sadly many so called fathers don't see it that way. There are many fathers much like my own, who decide for whatever reason to walk away and live outside the God ordained family structure. I'll never forget my mom telling me that she never asked my father to leave, he decided that on his own. From what I understand all that he wanted to do was "sow is royal oats" without the responsibility of family. Boy, what a cop out! Thank Almighty God that I did not take that same road. Although I did come pretty darn close (Read: "A Changed Heart" from my July archived blogs).
I would be the first to admit that being father (or a parent) is a difficult one at best. Would I sacrifice my life for my children? Absolutely, without question.......The biggest problem is that many of these fathers were NOT taught how to be fathers at all. They simply took the path of least resistance. In other words, they became intimately invovled with someone that they had no intention of committing to and then produced a offspring that they don't want any part of. Pretty sad. I often wonder how much different my life would have been had my dad stuck around. Although he was never told that he couldn't be a part of my life, he decided not to be. But once asked me "if I thought he did all that he was suppose to as my father". Which I resoundly said "No, you didn't".......
Unfortunately in this day and age most fathers just don't get it. They don't think about the responsibility that comes with having a child. I learned by "experience", when my wife had our first child Christian Jeremy I knew nothing about being a father. I took all that I had experienced up to that point and incorporated it into being a father. Needless to say I failed on most points miserably. But at least I was there.
I have learned much in my 11 years and have much to learn still. I have learned the importance of fatherhood. I have learned the importance of having two parents in the home. I have learned the importance of family. I 've learned that if I had not accepted Christ as Savior, I wouldn't even have half the knowledge that I have attained thus far. Finally, many of the fathers that I mentioned in the previous have not learned anything about sacrificing for their kids. I mean there are many things that I would like to have, but knowing that my kids need things is more important than anything that I could desire. I love to be able to take care of my kids needs and see them happy. For a child, especially a boy to have a father to grow up with can make all the difference in his life. All children need some form of discipline and since most fathers are looked at as the main disciplinarian, it would only make sense for the father to be of great need in the home.
Ephesians 6:4 declares "Fathers, do not irritate and provoke your children to anger [do not exasperate them to resentment], but rear them [tenderly] in the training and discipline and the counsel and admonition of the Lord". (Amplified Bible)
If the "real" fathers don't step up soon....We are going to have a very angry set of young men. Do we as a society really want that?
I think not.....
posted by Ray at 11:55 AM
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