Fathers, Don’t Let The Fire Die

Few things ignite my heart一and expose my weakness一like the call to disciple my kids well. In a recent sermon, I took a few minutes to encourage and challenge fathers (including myself) to assess how we are stewarding this high calling.

Here’s a bit of what I shared: 

In the Old Testament, whenever a new king would come to power, God instructed that king to write out his own copy of the law. To someone who God had called to be a warrior and leader, he said: "Take your pen in hand and get into my word."

I would warn us (especially men) that we live in a consumeristic culture that says, "Just sit back, chill, don't take yourself too seriously."

We want to reverse the culture of consumerism. We want to reverse that here. If you are single, there is nothing more important than for you now, at this stage in your life, to cultivate the habit of not just sitting in church, but engaging and getting into God's Word. If you're dating someone, there's nothing your girlfriend would like to see more in you (hopefully) than a passion for God's Word. If you're married, your wife and kids need to see that in you.

Our pastor at Brea often says: "Men are called to be thermostats, not thermometers." We're called to set the temperature, not just adapt to whatever temperature is in the room.

My prayer, at the end of the day , is that my kids will not say: "Dad, you loved your sports. You loved your work. You loved your hobbies. That was your life!" 

At the end of my life, I want my kids to say: "Man, dad loved Jesus. It was annoying sometimes, but he loved Jesus. When my faith was challenged and when I had doubts, I could look to you, dad, as an anchor. You weren't perfect, you made lots of mistakes." That's the legacy I want to leave.

This is not a guilt trip to the men. It's not about guilt; it's about growth. Just honestly ask yourself: Do your habits here, in our church, indicate that you're hungry for God's Word, or bored with it?  At some point, the root of our faith has to come out in the fruit of our lives.

Our children are not just watching us, they're becoming us.

Here's the hard truth: If you're not engaged here, among God's people, where it's easiest, there's just no way you're engaged at home. Your kids need to hear it from you.

It's not enough that we bring them to church. It's not enough that they go to Sunday school. Our children are not just watching us, they're becoming us. They need a dad whose face is buried in the Bible, and a dad who they can see the passion in his eyes, in his words, in his life.

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So fathers, imperfect and inconsistent as we are, don’t let the fire die. Don't let the apathetic, aloof status quo extinguish your passion to disciple your children. Feed the flame of their love for Jesus, knowing that much in this world will try to dampen and destroy it. This is one of the greatest tasks the Lord will ever put in your hands. 

Steward it well, for your moment is short. 

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You can watch the whole sermon here. Just know that fatherhood and discipleship isn't the main topic but more of an aside/intro.