A Father's Heart
It is obvious that Jesus had a very close relationship with His Father.
Everything done in life is done in the context of relationships. There is nothing that men do outside the context of relationships.
Endangered Masculinity, Page 28
The relationship between a father and a son is more important than we realize. Every man should be excited about becoming a father. A husband and wife have the opportunity to duplicate themselves in their children. We know that raising children is a great responsibility. Parenting involves everyone, especially when it comes to sons and daughters. Parents can literally put themselves into their children.
Although this responsibility requires both parents, there is the revelation of individual roles. In other words, mothers have a divine calling to impart womanhood to their daughters. Likewise, fathers are responsible for putting the spirit of a man in their sons. We don’t talk about this reality much, but it is a topic that deserves attention. Parents often discuss the roles that their sons and daughters will play as they enter adulthood. However, parents don’t often address what it means to be men or women with their children. Both parents share this responsibility.
The fact is that God created both the man and the woman in His image and likeness. God fashioned them to complement each other. This relationship was always meant to be natural. This is why, in every girl, there is a woman. Likewise, in every boy, there is a man. If you continue this train of thought, you will conclude that there is a mother in every woman and a father in every man. Children grow up and realize this, but often have not been prepared for either. It is possible to become a father without any awareness of what that involves. In other words, as parents, we often fail to communicate the truth of what is natural.
For example, birds naturally fly. Fish naturally swim. They can be identified by what is their natural tendency. Birds do what is natural to them, and fish as well. What fish and birds naturally do represents the purpose for which God created them. This revelation cannot be lost when it comes to our children. Girls must grow up knowing that the nature of a woman is to nurture or mother. Likewise, boys must learn that their heart is “to father.” This is what God created them to do naturally. All of the expectations placed on men would come naturally when their hearts are right. Men who have hearts for their families will naturally provide and protect. Husbands will cover their wives when they understand that this was part of God’s purpose for creating them.
Today's challenge is that they must be taught their purpose before they are told their responsibility. If sons are taught their purpose, they will find healing when it comes to their hearts. The absence of fathers in the home has reached epidemic proportions in our culture today. Before we can fix the problem, we must fix the hearts of men.
“See, I will send you the prophet Elijah before that great and dreadful day of the Lord comes. (6) He will turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers; or else I will come and strike the land with a curse.”
Malachi 4:5-6