A Good Father
“A Good Father”
by Pastor Kent Munsey
June 16, 2019
We are made in the image of God, and God models for us what it means to be a good father. When we study the characteristics of God, we can understand how to be good fathers to our children.
1. A good father is a Protector.
Protectors are often misunderstood. In Genesis 2:17, God said to Adam and Eve, “you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.” God, the Father, introduces his protective nature. He is speaking, he is shielding, because he sees what we cannot see.
When we say that the father is the leader or the head of the house, it means that he goes first. A good father protects by going first. He deals with trouble first, he deals with the storm first, and he deals with stress first. A good father will see before you can see.
2. A good father is a Provider.
Providing means more than just financial support. A good father provides wisdom, encouragement, and he contributes and adds value to his family. A good father will always provide what is needed in every season.
The nature of provision is a desire to be generous and to add value. Often it means providing encouragement and insight. In Genesis 22:14, we learn that God is a provider. He has given us “everything we need for life and godliness,” (2 Peter 1:3).
3. A good father is a Priest.
When you are a good father, you learn to be a priest, an advocate, a man of prayer. Abraham went to God on behalf of his family. He was a priest, and Israel was a nation of priests. The Bible tells us that God calls us, as believers, “a royal priesthood,” (1 Peter 2:9).
A lot of men don’t pray like they should because they don’t believe they are righteous enough. However, it’s only through prayer that we discover how righteous we are. It’s not our sin or lack thereof that determines our righteousness; it’s God who redeems us and makes us righteous.
When we find ourselves feeling separated from God, it’s not that our sin is too great, but it may be that our prayer life is too weak. Sin should never separate us from God; Jesus died on the cross so that we could have a relationship with God, and no sin is too great to undo his sacrifice. It’s only our pride that keeps us from praying and seeking God freely. It takes humility to seek God and acknowledge our need for him.
A good father is an advocate for his family who brings God every weight, every struggle, and every storm. When men don’t pray, that’s when they break under the pressure. When men don’t pray, that’s when they fall--and look for temporary relief from the pressure in all the wrong places--because they haven’t done the one thing that will help. Psalm 55:22 says to “cast your cares on the Lord and he will sustain you.”
Jesus is our high priest, and when we call on him, he is our advocate to God, the Father. We can place our trust in him because he has been given all power and authority over every situation.
4. A good father is a Prophet.
Prophecy means to exhort or encourage. Prophecy is saying what God sees.
In Genesis 35:18 Jacob’s wife, Rachel, named her son “Son of my Suffering,” with her dying breath, because she had become bitter. After she dies, Jacob takes his son and renames him Benjamen which means “Son of Good Fortune,” or “son of my strength.”
We have to be careful that we don’t pass on our pain to our children--that we prophesy God’s destiny for them. We prophesy by speaking what God sees over our children, speaking life, and speaking the word of God.
As we learn that we were made in the image of God, we can learn how to emulate God as fathers and parents to our children, both naturally and spiritually.
Discussion/Reflection Questions:
How have you seen the characteristics of God as a good father in your own life?
How do you feel called to imitate God as a father or a parent, whether naturally or spiritually?
Who do you feel called to advocate for in prayer?
How can you practice speaking life over the people in your life this week?