“Father” – Reality or Just a Term?

Have you ever thought about how broad the term father is used these days? We refer to people who invent things as fathers of their creation, as well as those who create an idea or philosophy. Today, however, I want to focus on those we know as fathers who have helped procreate a child. The term father is usually assigned to the act of biologically conceiving a child, but is that where it ends?

Many studies have shown that children without active/nurturing fathers in their lives grow up imbalanced, and with a lack of nurturing in many areas.

Everything a father does either helps a child develop or diminish as the person God has created the child to be. Whether it is the time spent reading, the hours spent in the car, times of working on projects, or – yes those great discipline events. Our kids are observing and learning from everything we do and teach.


There is a story that goes this way. A father wanted to read the paper, but was being bothered by his little daughter, Susie. Finally, he took a sheet out of his magazine, on which was printed the map of the world. Tearing it into small pieces, he gave it to Susie, and said, "Go into the other room and see if you can put this together."

After a few minutes, Susie returned and handed him the map correctly fitted together. The father was very surprised and asked how she had finished so quickly.

"Oh", she said, "on the other side of the paper is a picture of Jesus. When I got Jesus in His place, then the world came out all right."

Through the years as we teach our children about God and His standards (and we all do either in a positive way or negative way) they suck up that information and make it an internal value. As in this little girl’s case, she may not have known how the world fit together, be she knew the Jesus who had created the world.

God has instructed fathers to impact our children’s lives with true knowledge of God and who He is. It is not the churches job, it is the father’s job. The church is to reinforce what is being taught in the home.

Before crossing into the promised land Moses laid out clear instructions for fathers:

Deuteronomy 6:5-9

“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.”

Have you been really fathering your children, or just showing up once in a while?