“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.” // Matt 11: 28-30
All I have to say is BS. How is being a spiritual leader, pushing back darkness, dying to myself suppose to be easy and light? And now I have two small children and feel like the pressure is equivalent to an adult African elephant stomping on my poorly manicured foot like he is opening a melon.
Then I take a step back and realize these aren’t my children. I don’t own them. I do not determine their safety. I do not determine the adults they become. While I have great responsibility in these subjects, I am not called to be responsible for their everything. And that is when the fatherhood yoke becomes easier. God walks along side me as I struggle to point them to Him. I can be there for them and teach them what I know, but ultimately it is God who made them, it is God who protects them, it is God who sanctifies their lives into the adults they become.
The phrase “I would do anything for my children,” well... just isn’t true. I think the pressure of being the perfect dad has driven men to disengage and turn to whatever escape they can find.
We are not called to be super dads, movie dads, or perfect dads. We are called to be ambassador dads. Dads that point our children to God the best we can. To reflect God by owning our mistakes and showing our children what repentance, humility, and forgiveness looks like. To reflect God by not trying to be God, but by dying to ourselves.
Reflection Questions:
How do you think our culture/movies have defined what a “good” dad is? How does the Bible define the above?
What do you turn to to escape? Is it healthy?
What areas have you disengaged in?
How can you better be an ambassador for Christ towards your family?
In what ways do you try and be God in their lives? (ie are you solely in charge of their safety, providing, discipline, choice making, etc...)
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