I was in church on Father's day and the preacher talked about the role of a father in the home and most importantly, what the place of a father is in the lives of his family.
If you ask me, I will tell you straight on that, "good fathers are supermen and they are the first super heroes that roamed and still roam the face of the earth."
The first thing I heard was that, "fathers are spiritual leaders." Yes, spiritual leaders. Do you know that a father first feels the pain before even the wife and then children? Fathers spend a deal of time worrying about the spiritual, physical, emotional, mental and societal welfare of the family. He is mostly the first to get up in the morning and the last to go to bed. I am a father and can relate.
I Feel Blessed!
The role of a father in the overall wellness of the home cannot be overemphasized and below are some points I took away from that father's day service.
1. A father must govern his home with the word of God. We have all got to believe in something and for many of us who believe in the almighty God, we are told fathers must instill as a matter of urgency and seriousness the word of God in the very foundation of his home.
2. He must be a listener.- Not many listen, and this has brought about broken home and serious malfunction mostly in the lives of their children. fathers should have their ears to the ground and be patient to listen to their children talk. Some children have been pushed into the streets because they couldn't find their parent to help them understand what life truly is.
3. He must be protective of his wife and children.- These are his immediate family and their responsibilities should come first on the list. He breaths and lives his family and must never be caught napping while his family suffer.
4. He must teach his children to respect their elders, friends and themselves.- Looking at the decadence in society today, you will discover that, there are many wayward children who lack respect and cannot be caught showing any form of it to those around them. Charity they say begins at home, and it is what children are taught is what they exhibit outside.
5. He must be a man of integrity.- Without integrity, a man cannot be called a father. His dealings must be in line with best practices because he will be judged by his actions rather than by his words. Integrity is a scarce commodity these days and a good father must be known to be integrity personified.
6. He must teach his children to honour God first.- This is similar with point 1 above. This should be the first thing every child gets to learn. According to Mark 12:30-31, God should be the first in everything we do.
7. He must be accessible to his family at all times.- Jeremiah 33:3, a father must be accessible to his family and should not be seen as someone that cannot be talked to or approached. It is imperative that his family gets unlimited access to him, after all, he lives for them.
8. He must always pray for his family and intercede for them.- A father is the bridge between the family's challenges and the word of God. 1 Samuel 12:23. The family and their welfare is the sole responsibility of the father and he must be there to support and guide them with prayers and moral support.
9. He must be patient with his family.- Patient is a virtue and a father must have that so he is able to manage his family irrespective of the mood or time. James 1:12; Lamentation3:25. A father must understand that, tenacity gives birth to results and when a father constantly gets good results, he will have a happy family to go home to everyday.
We cannot completely state on a hundred paged book what a father should do and be to his family. The above are some take away from this year's Fathers day service and I must say, I learnt a lot and look forward to being a great father to my family.
What do you think the role of a father is? Are you a father? Have you started playing the fatherly role? How well are you doing it? Can you remember how your father was or how he still is? What memories do you have of a father?
