To All Of Us Dads

​Let’s celebrate being a father. Don’t run from it. Don’t deny it. Don’t give up on it. Don’t do it half-way. Don’t forget it. Don’t take it for granted. Be a father. Work at it. Pray about it. Learn from it. Grow in it. Rejoice in it. Laugh at it. Cry over it. Praise God for it. Hear God on it.
 
Genesis 18:19 “For I have known him, in order that he may command his children and his household after him, that they keep the way of the LORD, to do righteousness and justice, that the LORD may bring to Abraham what He has spoken to him.”
 
Exodus 34:6-7 “And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, "The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and the children's children to the third and the fourth generation.”

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Deuteronomy 6:4-9 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
 
Joshua 24:15 “And if it seems evil to you to serve the LORD, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.”
 
Psalms 103:13 “As a father pities his children, So the LORD pities those who fear Him.”
 
Psalms 127:3 “Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, The fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, So are the children of one's youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; They shall not be ashamed, But shall speak with their enemies in the gate.”
 
Proverbs 3:11-12 “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor detest His correction; For whom the LORD loves He corrects, Just as a father the son in whom he delights.”
 
Proverbs 4:1-2 “Hear, my children, the instruction of a father, And give attention to know understanding; For I give you good doctrine: Do not forsake my law.”
 
Proverbs 13:24 ”He who spares his rod hates his son, But he who loves him disciplines him promptly.”
 
Proverbs 17:6 “Children's children are the crown of old men, And the glory of children is their father.”
 
Proverbs 20:7 “The righteous man walks in his integrity; His children are blessed after him.”
 
Proverbs 22:6 “Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it.”
 
Proverbs 23:24 “The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice, And he who begets a wise child will delight in him.”
 
Matthew 7:7-11 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”
 
Ephesians 6:4 “And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.”
 
Colossians 3:21 “Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.”
 
Hebrews 12:5-11 “And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: ‘My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives.’ If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons. Furthermore, we have had human fathers who corrected us, and we paid them respect. Shall we not much more readily be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they indeed for a few days chastened us as seemed best to them, but He for our profit, that we may be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.”

One of the greatest blessings I have ever received from God is the blessing of being a father. It has been such a blessing to have two sons, and to be a part of their lives. I have always enjoyed being a dad to them and have so many cherished memories of being their father. That is not to say that it has not been challenging at times, but that was a blessing, too. They have helped me to grow as a man. And though I have many cherished memories of being their father, I wish that I had spent more time with them, done some things differently and been a better father. Still, I trust they know that I loved them, still love them, and will always love them. They give me purpose, meaning and fulfillment in so many wonderful ways. In my later years I can only encourage every father to be thankful to God and to love their children with His love. Therein is the blessing.