How to be a Good Father Figure

Fathers and The Father

Deuteronomy 1:29–31 "Then I said to you, 'Do not be terrified; do not be afraid of them. The Lord your God, who is going before you, will fight for you, as he did for you in Egypt, before your very eyes, and in the wilderness. There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son, all the way you went until you reached this place.'"

"The first and major link between OT covenant theology and the Wisdom literature is found in the concept *' the fear of the Lord.' Israelite wisdom and the fear of Yahweh are inseparably linked in the OT. We are told that the fear of the Lord is the beginning (Prov 1:7) and the end (Eccles 12:13) of wisdom, and all true Hebraic wisdom is saturated in this idea." [1]

Fathers Carry

Each year I pray for God to give me one area to focus on for the year. This year the Holy Spirit led me to focus on wise fathering and grandfathering.

Examples of God fathering his children strike me. My heart desires to become more and more of a father to my kids and grandkids, as God is a Father to me. 

One of the first descriptions of God's fathering comes where the author recounts how God "carried" his people through the wilderness as a father carries his son. "There you saw how the Lord your God carried you, as a father carries his son" Deuteronomy 1:30.  

For 40 years, God provided water for his people in a desert. He fed them manna every day. "He has watched over your journey through this vast wilderness. The Lord, your God, has been with you these forty years, and you have not lacked anything." Deuteronomy 2:7. The Father provides for their needs even in hard times. They always had everything. I want to be a provider too.

God protected his people from enemies. "This very day I will begin to put the terror and fear of you on all the nations under heaven" Deuteronomy 2:25. He ensured they had shoes. "During the forty years that I led you through the wilderness, your clothes did not wear out, nor did the sandals on your feet." Deuteronomy 29:5. I want to be a protector, too, ensuring my kids are safe from harm, and have shoes for the hard ground. 

The prophet Hosea tells us that when God led his people out of Egypt, not only did he provide and protect, but as a good Father, he showed them kindness and love. "I led them with cords of human kindness, with ties of love. To them, I was like one who lifts a little child to the cheek, and I bent down to feed them." Hosea 11:4. I want to raise my children to my cheeks with tender love. And bend down to their level with kindness, just as our Father does for us. 

Whether you are a father or not, you influence children. How could you "carry" them through difficult times, a "wilderness" in their life? Consider how you could provide for what they might lack, whether material or spiritual or even time with an adult who cares for them. Pray about how you could show a child kindness. 

[1] Grant, J. A. "Wisdom and Covenant." Ed. Tremper Longman III and Peter Enns. Dictionary of the Old Testament: Wisdom, Poetry & Writings 2008: 859. Print.