Ephesians 6:4 Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.
This weekend we celebrate Father’s Day. Is this a good thing or a bad thing?
Worldly evil influences culture to work for the demise of manhood and fatherhood. Men and fathers are shamed openly by academia, media, movies, and commercials. Men and fathers are viewed either as oppressive enemies or as buffoons who barely achieve moron status. The Western world can’t provide a definition for “woman,” but whatever a man is, he is defined as despicable.
Our church opposes culture’s current opposition to men because we believe what the Bible says. The Bible teaches that men and fathers hold crucial places of importance. What men and fathers need today is not discouraging ridicule, but inspiring encouragement. Dads, God created you to function with purpose and importance because of the role He has given you to fulfill and the grace He supplies you to fulfill your role well.
Society is a mess because the Biblical truth about the importance of men and fathers is diminished and ignored. Dads, we want to utilize the opportunity afforded by observing Father’s Day to let you know that you have God-given purpose and hope. The forgiving grace of God meets your sin, your weaknesses, your failures, and your shortcomings through the gospel. Wherever you need help, there is victory in Jesus. Through the fruit of the gifts of repentance and faith, you are on a pathway of truth the Lord uses to refine and shape you. As you walk down this pathway of life-changing truth, the Lord will use you to make a difference in the lives of others.
Fathers, one of the most significant places you make a difference is in your household through the lives of your children. The Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write to fathers in the church in Ephesus, and what Paul writes applies to fathers today. The passage above teaches dads that it is counter-productive to try to provoke children to obey through anger because it leads children to be provoked into anger. Fathers are to utilize Biblical discipline and instruction because their lives are living examples of Biblical discipline and instruction.
Dads, the Lord wants you to know you have a place of significance and importance. You are empowered by gospel grace to help your family see what it means to live under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ in all of life. What is rich and rewarding to you will become rich and rewarding to your family.
Men and fathers don’t be disheartened. The Lord will equip and empower you to make a difference in your family and in this world. Take heart dads, the Lord is with you!
