Being A Godly Father

Well, this is my first blog entry! I am so excited about taking this journey in writing my thoughts, concerns and expressions about being a Godly Father & Husband. 

First off, let me say to every young man that is a father...be proud to be a father! That is one of the greatest gifts you can have as a man, to have the opportunity to sow and pour into another human being who may one day be the next greatest man or woman in our country!

Being a Godly father, first requires you to be a Godly man. To be Godly simply means to be God-like. My pastor (Bishop Leroy J. Woolard) always tells us that God is our greatest example of Godly fatherhood. Look at the sacrifices he made, look at what he gave up for us, who were not his "biological" children, but as the Apostle Paul told us in Galatians 4:5 "To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons." He adopted us in through grace, and we have the same benefits as natural children. And at the same time, with his grace and mercy, he chastises us and holds us accountable for our own actions. You yourself may not have had a Godly example of fatherhood, but pick up your Bible, read the scriptures, take time to study them and you will see how to be a Godly father to you own children.

As Godly fathers, we must be sure to raise our children according to the scriptures. We cannot deviate off into some beaten contemporary path of society to conform to their ideals of what fatherhood is, but we must do as the Apostle Paul instructed us in 2 Timothy 1:13 "Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." In this ever changing, ever evolving society, we must stick with the Godly traditions and instructions of the Bible for child rearing.

I often think about, when the Judgement day of Christ shall come and I have to give an account for my stewardship (1 Peter 4:5; Romans 14:12), I do not want God to look at me and say, yes you preached my word, you operated in the gifts I gave you, but you didn't raise your children according to my standards, so depart from me.....In the words of the youth of today "that would be so messed up!" To have done everything else right, but that!

Being a parent is a great responsibility and unfortunately if you do not want to be one, it is not something you can reverse. Once the child is born, the child is born! The responsibility is now on you to do your part, not just as a father, but as a Godly father!