The Model of our Heavenly Father

The Model of Our Heavenly Father
John 10.25-30
25 Jesus answered, "I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father's name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[c]; no one can snatch them out of my Father's hand. 30 I and the Father are one."

Where ought a father to derive his authority?  It is a simple question that is not asked often enough.  So many men stumble into fatherhood either purposefully or accidentally, but have no direction other than learning as they go along.  But this is not the attitude our Heavenly Father had on Christ on earth, nor is it the attitude Christ has on us.  Biblical fatherhood is a manifestation of heavenly fatherhood.  In John 10 Jesus states that "the works [He does]" are "in [His] Father's name."  Those are the works that testify about him.  Those are the works that bring  us under Christ's direction, for Jesus says that "[His] sheep listen to [His] voice; [He] knows them, and they follow [Him]."  The love of the Father flows through the Son, and that love then showers itself bountifully upon us. 

Fathers, is the situation so different?  Are we not to provide the love and direction of the Father, just as Christ did to us?  The model of fatherhood is an analogous representation of the Father's love of the Son.  So it is that every action a father does bears immense impression upon his children.  The love a Father shows to His children is what the children see as God's love.  Fathers, let us ensure that the instruction and direction of Christ is being passed onto yourself and to your family. 

This reveals the most crucial aspect of fatherhood:  a man's own relationship with the Father.  If a father is not in persistent study and prayer, if his life and actions are not tuned to the will of God, the love of the Father cannot be manifest upon his children.  Fathers, it is so vital to heed the instruction of the Lord, not merely for yourself but for your children and your wife.  A family that is mirroring Christ's lifestyle and instructions and that is responding daily to the Lord's personal direction upon that family will prosper spiritually.  The storms and waves of life will by no means topple such a household because its foundation is build upon the Lord. 

Fathers, is Christ's love moving through you and onto your own family?  If not, turn to the Lord today.  There is nothing more important than for the salvation and godliness rooted in a man's household.