Fatherhood. What a real challenge it is in this world we live in today. It seems like outside the church walls there is a constant attack upon the family, and especially the role of Fatherhood within that family unit.

We are all sons and daughters of God, the ultimate Father. Praise God for the earthly father figures He has put in our lives and the model He set for them!

The concept of fatherhood and the responsibilities it entails are all throughout the Bible:

•  Provide for his family

"But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever." 1 Tim 5:8

•  Encourage and implore children

"For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhort each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into His own kingdom and glory." 1 Thess 2:11-12

•  Instruct children

"Hear, my son, your father’s instruction, and forsake not your mother’s teaching," Prov 1:8

•  Love his wife  

"Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband." Eph 5:25, 28, 33

•  Raise children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord  

"Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." Eph 6:4

Men are called to serve with humility and integrity and be a model to their households, recognizing that all are created in the image of God - and leading their families to do the same.

This Sunday as we honor our fathers and all of the men who have acted as father figures in our lives, let us continue to pray for and encourage them as they answer the calling to love sacrificially and lead with integrity.