Fathers: It's Just About Time

June 2019

Time is something we all have but never seem to have enough of. This is true of parents, especially fathers. How we spend our time with our children has a tremendous impact on their lives in the short term as well as for the rest of their lives on earth and into eternity. Spending time with our kids is not only a good idea but pays eternal dividends. As Christians fathers we can have influence for Christ in their lives. In the Old Testament, before they had the written Word, fathers passed on God’s truth to their children through word of mouth. It was a huge responsibility then, and one in which fathers still have today, despite the written word, devotionals, commentaries, and the like.

Nothing can take the place of the family altar where the family spends time in the Word of God and in prayer. And even beyond that there is the need for fathers to spend time with their boys and girls, bonding with them. Deuteronomy 11:19 says, “You shall teach them to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.” That about covers all the times of life. For fathers to be effective examples, role models, and leaders, they must follow Jesus Christ in their own lives. Kids wants to see it even more than just hearing it.

Richard Baxter was one of England’s greatest ministers. In early life, he went into a large parish and a community which was composed almost entirely of rich, cultured people. He found that the congregation was cold, and all was not as he had expected it to be in the ministry. He was disappointed and disheartened. The young pastor said, “The way to save the church and this community is to establish religion in the homes of the community and to build the family altars.” Thus, Baxter spent three years in his visitation and in his determination to establish a family altar in every home in that community. He succeeded amazingly, and this condition in the homes was the fountainhead that filled his church to overflowing and started that magnificent ministry and life. Fundamentally, religion must involve the family relationship. You cannot even build a church altar that is an attractive center without the family altar. Baxter was right and proved it.

Fathers, it is all about time. The family altar and spending quality time with your children is essential. May God do his work in you and in your family.

Never say you are too busy,
When your children’s lives are at stake,
Lest one day you wake up and realize
You’ve made a tragic mistake.