For thought and meditation

[rl69]

Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.—Colossians 3:21 (http://harvest.us3.list-manage.com/track/click?u=4f108f827aed8d503b5fca9fa&id=be381b0b50&e=3dd732485b)Ephesians 6:4 says, "And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord." Notice this is directed to fathers. But, unfortunately, a lot of dads are missing in action these days.

It was unheard of in first-century culture for a father to abandon his responsibilities in his home. Nowadays, it seems to be almost the norm. We are losing fathers at an unprecedented rate in our culture. One expert said we are in danger of becoming a fatherless society.

Why are fathers so important? To a large degree, a child's view of God is based on their view of their father. You will see a lot of times that people compare their relationship with their earthly father to the one with their heavenly Father. I know this puts a lot of pressure on men, but it's the truth: dads are earthly representatives of God. And God is loving. God is caring. God is nurturing. At the same time, God is just, righteous, and holy.

So what are we to do? We are not to provoke them. In fact, the word provoke speaks of a repeated pattern of treatment that causes the child to have anger and resentment that boils over to outright hostility. Instead of provoking them, we are to bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord. This could also be translated "to nourish and feed." Another translation says, "Let them be kindly cherished."

So help your children come to Jesus and develop their own relationship with God. And remember that dads are representatives of God to their kids—that is why their role is so vital in the home.

[buckwheatpaul]

Fathers are so important to the family. They are the guardian and the spiritual leader just to mention a few of the attributes. Without the father to set the tone and to guide the children much is lost in the rearing of the children. While my father was far from perfect he was always there for me and a great source of thought. I lost my father in 1999 and I still miss his thoughts and encouragement. Thanks for the Bible Study Lesson rl69! Paul

[Blackwater]

Wow! Another really big dose of heavy truth. And it's so very, very true. All of it. There really IS a pretty good correlation between the decline of Christianity and the predominance of fatherless children. Many will say it's not a cause-effect relationship, but most of us know better. Mothers, too, are being led to abandon, and even kill their own children, just for their "convenience." It can even be seen in the women who have intentionally killed their children, and been publicly charged with their murders, and spread across the TV screens for a while. They all murdered them because they wanted a realationship that the kids inhibited! How evil can evil be? That's got to be near the top, IMO.

It was said of Hitler's henchmen, when they were being held for trail after the war, that the essential thing everyone noted about them was their banality. They were certainly not "supermen," but very ordinary and self-possessed people, who had done horrendous things, and didn't seem to be bothered by them in the least. And now, it seems that our whole populace is being laced ever more thickly with similar types. They know no morals or ethics. All they know is what they want, and they EXPECT to get every jot and tittle of it, ipso facto. We see it in the riots going on now, and all the senseless protests. People are even being PAID to protest! It ain't a REAL protest if the protesters have to be paid to do it! But ... there it is.

There is NO area of our collective and individual lives that Christianity or the lack thereof, cannot and does not affect. Not one. We often try to reserve spaces in our lives where we don't let our beliefs take precedent, but those always wind up, sooner or later, costing us more than the brief pleasures they could ever offer. Funny how all that works, ain't it?