Tag: example

You Have What It Takes

Today’s reading is John 14.

Chapter 14 in the book of John is probably most well known for verse 6 which is one of the most important verses in the Bible because it tells us there is only one way for forgiveness of our sins and salvation in Heaven which is through Jesus. It is foundational to our belief as a Christian.

“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

We are going to focus though on another part of chapter 14. In verse 8 Philip asks Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus’ response includes the following in John 14:9…

“Whoever has seen me has seen the Father.”

Here is a question for those reading this who have children. Would your children be able to say they’ve seen their Father in Heaven based on the love they see you show and model as a father or mother?

In April I will head to Africa with 9 other dads in partnership with an organization called DadCamp (http://dadcamp.org). DadCamp is passionate about helping fathers become the dads the Bible teaches us we’re called to be because everything changes when a strong, loving father is involved in their child’s life. While there are no perfect dads and myself and the others going will admit we all have a lot of work to do, we are trying to do our best to be the dad God wants us to be and in this trip we will host a few camps in Malawi to hopefully allow God to work through us to inspire other dads to do the same.

One of my favorite books is The Resolution for Men by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Randy Alcorn. I’ve said before it’s like an instruction manual for fathers and joked that it should be required reading for all dads. There is also a version for women. The book is filled with statements or resolutions to live in certain ways and hold ourselves to the standards God calls us to.
Jesus’ statement of, “Whoever has seen me has seen me has seen the Father,” is so profound because it’s true and our children should also be able to know God and see His love through our actions. We are called to be the best window our kids have into their Heavenly Father’s love. So many people who struggle to believe in God or believe that God loves them unconditionally and wants the best for them is because they have not experienced a loving earthly father (or mother).

The Resolution for Men talks about a few ways we can model our Heavenly Father and give our kids a window into His love and who He is.

One way is through attention. This is so hard nowadays with a workday that doesn’t seem to stop due to calls and texts and the distractions they bring with the constant buzzing of our phones or even the non-work related algorithms of social media which suck us into Facebook, Instagram, and X instead of focusing on our kids and being interested in them. I’ve said before some of my greatest memories were going to every high school basketball game of my hometown with my Dad (especially the day after Christmas spending all day at the holiday tournament which I may have looked forward to more than Christmas), as well as University of Illinois football and basketball games. I try to do my best to do the same with our kids, but know I have a lot of work to do…especially when it comes to putting my phone down!

Another the book mentions is through affection. This is not easy for many of us and especially men. But we need to hug and love on our kids and tell directly them we love them. Yes, kids need discipline but also our love. I know I can do better at showing that through playing and horsing around/wrestling with them. Unfortunately it’s go, go, go….or let’s just chill on the couch and watch a movie (which usually results in me falling asleep!).

The book also discusses affirmation. God the Father modeled this explicitly with Jesus after His baptism in Mark 1:11, “You are my beloved Son, in you I am well pleased.”  Regardless of if our child is young or an adult, have we told them we are proud of them lately? I would like to think I do a decent job on this…especially when they have a good game or do well on a test. I can improve on just telling them I’m proud of them randomly just because of who they are and that they are my son or daughter which helps them know my love and adoration for them is not conditional on their accomplishments. They need to know this because they are going to fail and mess up a lot (like me), and I want them to know that doesn’t change how I feel about them just like it doesn’t change how their Heavenly Father feels about and loves them.

Lastly, The Resolution for Men asks if we are known for loving others? Do our kids see us loving and showing compassion to everyone regardless of their age, race, sex, or social class? Do our kids see us loving our neighbor as ourselves? Jesus modeled the Father’s love by showing mercy and loving the unlovable like the Samaritan women at the well, the adulterous women, touching and healing lepers, and even washing Judas’ feet, just to name a few.

In the end, He showed his unconditional love, mercy, and grace by suffering and dying on the cross for each and every one of us.

As we wrap up today, let us reflect on if we are a shadow of our Heavenly Father the way Jesus modeled.

Ask yourself like I am, what are the one or two things I can work to improve on starting today?

We can do this regardless of our kids’ age(s).

As we say at DadCamp, “You have what it takes!”

 

Our Lifesaver

Today’s reading is Daniel 1.

King Nebuchadnezzar, leader of the Babylonians, took over Jerusalem and ruled the Jews. He asked his chief eunuch to bring in some of the sharpest Jewish youths to come and learn in order to teach them the language of the Chaldeans. They also must eat the king’s food which was different than the diet of the Jews and eating it would defile them. But, Daniel said he would not eat the food and defile himself leading Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego to follow suit. Daniel even suggested that they test their diet by comparing them to others who ate the king’s diet and after 10 days, Daniel and his friends were healthier. Not only did the stewards of the king then let them eat their own diet, but when they were put in front of the king in Daniel 1:20, the king noticed they had much better wisdom and understanding than his own magicians and enchanters.

A while ago a brother in Christ shared with me a story about when he was in high school. He was a good athlete, popular, and known to be a Christ-follower and someone who although not perfect, stuck to his values and generally did the right thing. A group of peers, and one peer in particular, kept trying to get him to do something high school kids often do but that he did not. He stood his ground saying no many times, but then finally gave in agreeing to partake. Jesus says in Matthew 26:41, “The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” I could have used one of many examples of my own missteps and mistakes, but this story is especially insightful. The one peer who was always trying to persuade him to take part admitted that he was not only surprised, but actually was disappointed that this individual finally gave in. You see, even those that try to persuade us to do bad things often secretly want us to stand our ground. Even though they will typically never admit it, not only do they respect us for doing the right thing, but they secretly want us to continue to do the right thing because they want to believe that good still exists. This inspires them to want to do better and believe that they too can do the right thing when faced with temptation. They may not come around at the time, but just like King Nebuchadnezzar who later came around and gave glory to God after God protected Daniel’s friends in the fiery furnace, they may too in the future as a result of your actions today. St. Francis of Assisi is generally given credit to saying, “Preach the Gospel, and if necessary, use words.” Others must see the truth and good that exists through the Holy Spirit and Jesus living in and through us.

We will, however, mess up. Thankfully, that’s when we have our greatest opportunity to speak the Gospel. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” He’s our lifesaver. We humble ourselves before God and others to let Him and them know we are not perfect and are in need of a savior. We can let them know we are saved and forgiven by His grace alone through his death on the cross. And we too will live, just as He lives through His resurrection on Easter. They can do the same…all they have to do is ask and believe. Just grab the ultimate lifesaver right there within arm’s reach. Is it that simple? Yes..it’s that simple.