The influence of a parent

“When you walk, they [your parents’ teachings] will lead you; when you lie down, they will watch over you; and when you awake, they will talk with you.”
-Proverbs 6:22

There isn’t a day that goes by that my parents’ influence isn’t evident in my life. I may not even think about it, but their wisdom from the first two decades of my life has influenced everything. It’s like an instinct now, those things they have instilled in me.

And they are there at all times. It’s not as though I have to really concentrate to remember what my father taught me about honest work, or what my mother taught me about the Bible. I just know.

Ultimately, this is what frightens me about how the role of the parent is being deemphasized in our culture. America tells you to dump your kids off at daycare and then go to work where you can fulfill your potential. America tells you that you don’t need a man to help you raise your son.

Most people don’t realize that there is something important going on even in a game of catch. It is something that cannot be replaced. Ever.

The Bible teaches us that a father should be the spiritual leader of the family. I could lament how much we men have failed at that duty, but let’s be honest – far too many fathers aren’t even in the home. It would do little good for me to talk about a lack of Bible studies when the first problem is a lack of fathers.

God has chosen for Himself the title of “Father.” There is something really wonderful about that title, and it’s something that may now be lost on so many people who have had really terrible experiences with their earthly fathers, or maybe don’t even know who their fathers are.

But if fallen humans are dragging the name through the mud, let us remember that they have taken something wonderful and blessed, something modeled after God’s relationship with us, and tainted it, but that does not change the faithfulness and love of the original.

If you haven’t been the man you should be, I would ask you to look at how God has modeled that for us. Look upon His love, His sacrifice, and His unending provision. If you have a lower view of that word “father,” look not at those who have failed to live up to it, but the one who set the standard. He is filled with compassion and comfort.

This is the Father who sent His only Son to die upon the Cross for us. In our sin, we have fallen short of His glory, but in the death of Jesus, He provided a sacrifice that would satisfy justice so that we could be forgiven. Repent and have faith in Him, the only one who is worth our faith.

He has written His Word down for us in the Bible. Let this Word lead you. Read it so that it will follow you around, awake or asleep. Our human fathers, to one degree or another, will probably fail at some point, but not the original Father.