Last night, I had the privilege of going to see the movie Courageous with my church’s Men’s Ministry. I have to say, I expected it to be a good movie, after all it was produced by the same guys that had done the movies Fireproof and Facing the Giants. However, they took this one to a whole different level. It was inspiring, it was life-changing. It convicted, and it instructed. And, probably the best part, the Gospel message was proclaimed throughout.
The basis of the flick is on what it means to be a dad, particularly in light of what the Bible teaches on the subject. Having two little children myself, this film spoke volumes to me. I realized how precious life is, and even more so, what my role as father needs to be in the lives of my wife and kids.
A verse that has rung true for me over the years is this:
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger by the way you treat them. Rather, bring them up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the Lord. ~ Ephesians 6:4 (NLT)
Paul is not talking about purposefully pushing our kids to anger. Rather, his focus is on bringing them up strong in the Lord. Specifically, he is saying we need to teach, model, and instruct them about God.
In our current society, it is easy for us parents to get slack and pass this task off to someone else. Your church may have a youth group that is supposed to feed them in fellowship and the Word. There are private Christian schools that are supposed to instruct them in biblical truth. We have church services that are supposed to teach our kids how to worship. It’s easy to feel like we don’t need to do anything at home, since they get Christ from so many other places. But, that’s not the biblical model.
God calls parents, particularly dads to be the spiritual leaders in their home, in their kid’s lives. It doesn’t say to pass this off to others. Rather, those other things should supplement what we are doing at home, not take its place.
Parents will you stand up and be courageous? Will you take ownership of your kid’s physical, mental and spiritual lives? Will you resolve to be a Godly parent?
For me, it is a resounding YES!
Go see the movie. Dig into the Word. Be courageous. You won’t regret it.
…But as for me and my family, we will serve the Lord. ~ Joshua 24:15
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