WHAT MAKES A
GREAT DAD?
(Genesis 2: 24-25)
By: Pastor Greg Tupas, Jr.
(Genesis 2: 24-25)
By: Pastor Greg Tupas, Jr.
ANYBODY can be a father but it takes
a great man to be a great dad. Our modern society tries to convince women,
though that they are as strong and that they should be equal with men. It is
sad to note that the present time tend to mix men and women together in a
mixing bowl which make it difficult to identify who really is the head of the
family. I remember an instance when a husband was asked about their respective
responsibilities or duties at home, the husband replied: “My wife is
responsible to our children. Our children are responsible to their pets ( cats
and dogs) and I am responsible to the plants. “
A great dad does not necessarily
pictures a big masculine man painted with tattoos and with a dagger on his
waist when he walks out of the house. We will study the characteristics of a
great dad based from the text (I Thes. 2: 7-12) which does not only apply to
churches but the principles of the said text also applies to our family.
Characteristics
of a great father:
1. Loving - Verse 8 is an expression of love. “So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear to us.”
In Ephesians 5: 25, husbands are instructed to love their wives because generally, it is not usual for husbands to show their affection to their wives Women are not told to love their husbands because their love comes out naturally. On the other hand, wives are instructed to respect their husbands (Eph. 5:33), because this is one aspect which sometimes women hardly observe.
Comparatively, mothers know more than the fathers in child care. They know exactly how to carry a baby so that it will be comfortable, they know when to change the diaper and feed the baby. They know exactly what to do when it cries even if its not hungry. They know how to bathe it without any difficulty. I admit, as a father, I am not as good as my wife in child care, but fathers enjoy and love to play and be with their children.
A great dad is a loving father, just as what is portrayed in the story of the prodigal son which everyone of us is familiar with. He knew that the door of his father’s house was open to him on the day he decided to return and ask for forgiveness for what he had done. Our heavenly Father has His arms open and ready to accept us when we repent of our sins.
As fathers, we should prove our love to our children by being ready to forgive them when they have offended us.
1. Loving - Verse 8 is an expression of love. “So being affectionately desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear to us.”
In Ephesians 5: 25, husbands are instructed to love their wives because generally, it is not usual for husbands to show their affection to their wives Women are not told to love their husbands because their love comes out naturally. On the other hand, wives are instructed to respect their husbands (Eph. 5:33), because this is one aspect which sometimes women hardly observe.
Comparatively, mothers know more than the fathers in child care. They know exactly how to carry a baby so that it will be comfortable, they know when to change the diaper and feed the baby. They know exactly what to do when it cries even if its not hungry. They know how to bathe it without any difficulty. I admit, as a father, I am not as good as my wife in child care, but fathers enjoy and love to play and be with their children.
A great dad is a loving father, just as what is portrayed in the story of the prodigal son which everyone of us is familiar with. He knew that the door of his father’s house was open to him on the day he decided to return and ask for forgiveness for what he had done. Our heavenly Father has His arms open and ready to accept us when we repent of our sins.
As fathers, we should prove our love to our children by being ready to forgive them when they have offended us.
2. Transparent
– still in verse 8 of our text it
says that it is not only the gospel which was preached but their very lives and
souls were shared to the church in Thessalonica. Likewise in the family,
fathers should live what they teach to their children. We are most transparent
to the members of our family. We can appear to be pious, kind and loving inside
the church, but there is nothing we can hide to our wife and our children. You
are who and what you really are in the home.
We should not only teach them the Christian values but we must live and show our family the values that the Bible is teaching us as the model and the leader of the household.
The unbelievers have a different set of values from us. They value most their possessions, positions and power.
We, Christians are not affected by stress and pressures because we have PEACE with God through our Lord JESUS CHRIST (Rom.
In a funeral rites, the children of the deceased father were asked to say some lines regarding what memories they have of their father. Many good memories were mentioned by each of them but there was one common thing mentioned by all of them. They all said that they always see their Dad kneeling with their Mom beside their bed every night before they sleep.
We should not only teach them the Christian values but we must live and show our family the values that the Bible is teaching us as the model and the leader of the household.
The unbelievers have a different set of values from us. They value most their possessions, positions and power.
We, Christians are not affected by stress and pressures because we have PEACE with God through our Lord JESUS CHRIST (
In a funeral rites, the children of the deceased father were asked to say some lines regarding what memories they have of their father. Many good memories were mentioned by each of them but there was one common thing mentioned by all of them. They all said that they always see their Dad kneeling with their Mom beside their bed every night before they sleep.
3. Faithful to
God – Verse 10 of our text mentions
about being holy, blameless, righteous. A father who is faithful to God leads
his family closer to God. If you don’t lead your family to God, you will be
leading them to the evil one.
A very young boy was diagnosed with a terminal illness and the doctor informed the parents that he barely have a few days to live. The father, though he was a Christian found it hard to tell his son. He would read him passages and stories from the Bible which would encourage and give him strength in fighting for the pain that he was suffering. After praying hard, the father decided to ask his son: “Are you afraid to meet Jesus?” “If Jesus is like you, Dad, I’m not afraid!!!”
A very young boy was diagnosed with a terminal illness and the doctor informed the parents that he barely have a few days to live. The father, though he was a Christian found it hard to tell his son. He would read him passages and stories from the Bible which would encourage and give him strength in fighting for the pain that he was suffering. After praying hard, the father decided to ask his son: “Are you afraid to meet Jesus?” “If Jesus is like you, Dad, I’m not afraid!!!”
4. A positive
influence - (vv 11-12) you could be a positive
influence to your children by being a good example.
There was a Christian father who was tempted to drop by a bar to drink some bottles of beer with his friends after work. Before he opened the first bottle, he heard a small voice and he recognized that it was the voice of his son, saying: “Dad, whatever you, I’ll follow your footsteps.” That one sentence was enough to remind and convict him that he was on the wrong path.
A young athlete while running a race stumbled and hit his chin badly. Immediately somebody ran to the field and picked him up. The athlete was surprised to see that it was his father. “ You don’t have to continue running, son, you are hurt.” “I want to finish the race Dad.”, the boy said. “Okay, we’ll finish the race together.” He did not get the gold medal but he could not forget the golden memory of what his father did when he most needed him.
Do you possess these qualities? Do your children have great memories about you as their father? It is not yet too late, you can still be a great father, by the grace of our Heavenly Father.
There was a Christian father who was tempted to drop by a bar to drink some bottles of beer with his friends after work. Before he opened the first bottle, he heard a small voice and he recognized that it was the voice of his son, saying: “Dad, whatever you, I’ll follow your footsteps.” That one sentence was enough to remind and convict him that he was on the wrong path.
A young athlete while running a race stumbled and hit his chin badly. Immediately somebody ran to the field and picked him up. The athlete was surprised to see that it was his father. “ You don’t have to continue running, son, you are hurt.” “I want to finish the race Dad.”, the boy said. “Okay, we’ll finish the race together.” He did not get the gold medal but he could not forget the golden memory of what his father did when he most needed him.
Do you possess these qualities? Do your children have great memories about you as their father? It is not yet too late, you can still be a great father, by the grace of our Heavenly Father.
http://www.baptistchronicle.org/sermons_what_makes_a_great_dad.html
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