(Ephesians 5:21 – 6:4)
F Faith: Faith can be otherwise defined as belief or
trust. A father must be a man of strong faith. Abraham was described as
the father of faith and a friend of God because of his exceptional trust
in God. God called Abraham the father of many nations and he believed
God even though he was childless. In Romans 4:18-20 the Bible says “Who
against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many
nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. And
being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when
he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s
womb: He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God; In a world where there are no moral absolutes, a Christian father must put his faith in God and God alone.
A: Anointing: Anointing is the unction or empowerment
provided by God for our life’s assignment. A Father must be anointed in
order to perform his roles in the home and in the society. There are
different types of anointing on the father. One of them is the Priestly
anointing. As a priest, a father is required to represent his family
before God and represent God before his family. He should establish and
maintain a spiritual environment in the home conducive for the honor of
God. Another anointing is that of a leader. Fathers are leaders and they
have been divinely equipped by God for this role. A father is a
servant-leader and he must lead by the example of Godliness in all
things.
T: Trainer: A father is a trainer and a teacher. As a
teacher, he provides instruction to his children and as a trainer; he
models his teaching by showing positive example. Prov. 22:6 says “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.
One of the problems of our society today is that children are not
receiving the training they need from their fathers. God’s plan is for
children to be trained by parents, not fathers alone and not mothers
alone.
H: Husband: A father should also be a good husband. A father’s role as a husband is to love his wife and his children. Eph. 5:25-29 says “Husbands,
love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself
for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water
by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not
having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy
and without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their own
bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself. For no man ever yet
hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord
the church: It is possible to be a father without being a husband
but God’s idea is that children should be born within the confines of
marriage. A man should be a husband first before being a father and he
should cherish and nourish his wife and love her unconditionally.
E: Excellence: Another characteristic of a good father
is excellence. Excellence is going above and beyond. It means to be
distinguished. Our God is an excellent God and we are created in His
likeness. Fathers need to demonstrate the example of excellence to their
family and to the world.
R: Righteousness: To be righteous means to be holy or
godly. God expects fathers to lead a righteous and sanctified life and
show to the world that Christian fathers are called to be light of the
world and the salt of the earth. We wish all fathers a happy Father’s
Day.