The Calling of a Faithful Father

Summary

On Father's Day the pastor unfolds three marks of a godly father, all drawn from the example of our Heavenly Father. First, a father must truly love his children and let them know it, just as Jesus rested in the Father's love and told his disciples to abide in it.

Second, a father hands down an inheritance. Every parent passes something to the next generation, either an empty, aimless life or a living faith. Through Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and through Joel's charge to tell each generation what God has done, we see the blessing flow from father to child whenever the child receives it by faith.

Third, a father builds friendship with his children, the highest bond of trust and love, the way Christ called his disciples friends. A visiting preacher closed with his own story of planting a church, sheltering war refugees, and an older relative who laid down his life for his friends, showing that a parent's daily sacrifice leaves children a lasting legacy of faith.

Key Points

• A father's first calling is to love his children openly, mirroring the Father's love shown in Christ.
• We can only give our children as much faith as we ourselves have received from God.
• Faith is an inheritance: pass it on through testimony and personal example, from generation to generation.
• Children may accept or reject what is offered, like Jacob and Esau, so keep sowing the word anyway.
• Build real friendship with your children, rooted in trust, not authority alone.
• The greatest love lays down its life for others, as Christ did and as faithful servants still do.
• A life spent serving and praying for others becomes a blessing that outlives us.