Father

Ephesians 6:⁴ “Fathers, don’t exasperate your children, but raise them up with loving discipline and counsel that brings the revelation of our Lord.” (TPT).

What kind of Father is God? He is not only a caring and consistent Father. God Is A Close Father. Acts 17:²⁷ “God did this so people would…reach out for Him and find Him, since He is not far from each of us.” (NIV, emphasis added). God is close. Wherever you are, reading this today, God is close to you even right now. Psalm 145:¹⁸ “The Lord is near to all who call on Him…” (NIV, emphasis added). God is never too busy for me. God is never too busy for you. God is never too busy for us. Fathers, you cannot be too busy for your children. I know you are thinking: “but I am out there, trying to make ends meet”. Maybe you need to consider shortening the ends so that they can meet. Do not make your children pay for the lifestyle you cannot afford. Be near to them.

But Pastor, I need to make this deal so that I can provide this good life for my children. What your children need is a good father to impact their destinies, not a good car. Trust me! The cars your children ride in, in your house, will not impact their destinies a tenth as much as your being present with them will impact their destinies. Fathers have to be present. Matthew 7:¹¹ “If you…know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him!” (NIV, emphasis added). So, not only is God not too busy for me, He loves me and meets my needs. And for us fathers, most of the needs our children have are emotional needs. Nathan Myhrvold, the former Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at Microsoft, took a year off work so that he can be with his twin ten-year-olds.

I know you are saying, “Pastor, it is because he has a lot of money, so he can do that”. Listen, when is money enough? If you ask the man who has a million naira, “When is money enough?”, he will say it is enough when he has fifty million naira. If you ask the man who has fifty million naira, “When is money enough?”, he will say maybe when he has five hundred million naira. If you ask the man who has five hundred million naira, “When is money enough?”, he will say, “When I have two million dollars”. If you ask the man who has two million dollars, “When is money enough?”, he will say, “When I have fifty million dollars”. The point is your children are not going to be with you forever. At some point, they will leave your house, and then it will be too late. You may have time, but you would have lost them. Now is the time to create time for your children. Do I get an Amen?

Prayer: Father, I ask for the grace to parent with wisdom; to be near to my children, and to raise them with loving discipline that reveals You to them, in Jesus Name. Amen!