There are a lot of people around who can't wait to tell you what you've done wrong, but there aren't many fathers willing to take the time and effort to help you grow up.One of the great tragedies in the world today is the lack of true father figures—mentors whose lives serve as a pattern for the younger generation. Not just those who train, coach, and give out instruction, but those who model the art of successful living.
(1 Cor. 4:15 The Message)
Without the example of a father, children are at a disadvantage. They are forced to make decisions and choose pathways that their own wisdom and experience have not prepared them for.
Mistakes, heartache, and regret—most of which could have been avoided—are the results.
Not only is the lack of a father's example and guiding hand evident in society today, but it has also taken its toll in the church. This is what the apostle Paul was referring to when he said, "For though you might have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet you do not have many fathers…" (1 Cor. 4:15).
In my ministry, I have written and preached about this issue of a fatherless Christianity. It is my intention to inspire this generation of Christians to rise to the occasion and assume the responsibility of mentoring their children as fathers in the Lord.
We All Need A Mentor
A number of years ago I attended a convention in a nearby state. After the evening meeting, I retired to my room where I began to earnestly pray about the scarcity of spiritual fathers in the church.
Although I had been blessed with several mature believers who greatly contributed to my own spiritual growth, I personally had been grappling with the fact that I didn't have a true spiritual father in my own life.
As I prayed, I was seized with such a sense of grief that I began to weep before the Lord. This went on for some time, and though I found comfort and encouragement, I still left that place with a sense of needing some sort of mentor.
Some time later as I was once again lamenting how few spiritual fathers there are today in the body of Christ, I sensed the Holy spirit challenging me as He spoke to my heart. He said, "It's time for you to stop looking for a father in the Lord and start being one."
I now pass on that challenge to you.
Will you give yourself to the self-sacrifice to which all fathers are called? Will you lay down your life, making mentoring your children your main purpose in life?
I challenge you to say yes to this high calling and to approach life's lessons and experience as God's resource for our calling.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
