Fathers, leave footprints for your children

‘Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.’ Ephesians 6:4 NIV

The story is told of a man in a supermarket pushing a trolley with a screaming baby. He kept repeating softly, ‘Keep calm, George. Everything’s going to be okay, George.’ A lady watching with admiration said to the man, ‘You are to be commended for your patience in trying to quiet little George.’ The man replied, ‘Lady, you’ve got it wrong; I’m George!’ If you’re a parent, you can relate.

Instead of saying, ‘Fathers, do not exasperate your children,’ doesn’t it sometimes seem like the Scripture should read, ‘Children, don’t annoy your fathers’? But it doesn’t. That’s because parents are called to be an example of God’s love, and children learn best from observation. Shopping at the supermarket is an opportunity to show your children the proper way to behave. There is no greater role model for children than a parent. And there has never been a greater need for godly parents than today. Colossians 3:21 says, ‘Fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged’ (NKJV). That means being a model of patience and love to your children. From potty training to education—parents are put in place by God to be a tool that transforms the teachings of the Bible into a living witness to their children. In a time when we’re paying a high price for the lack of real fathers in the home, Scripture reminds us, ‘… The father shall make known Your truth to the children’ (Isaiah 38:19 NKJV). Father, commit yourself to following the Lord, and leaving footprints for your children to walk in.