by Justin Morton
Happy Father’s Day to all of our fathers here at Walter Hill. I hope you are showered with love and appreciation on this special day for all of the wonderful things you have done, currently do and will continue to do for your family. Although it may not be said nearly enough, you are appreciated by both your physical family and also your spiritual family. Thank you for being the fathers that you are.
For some children, especially boys, we have a desire to grow up and be just like our dad. You see, while we may never say it out loud, our fathers are our heroes. We look up to them and want to imitate them from the time we are small. So we do things like try to walk around the house in those oversized shoes, trying not to fall flat on our faces. We put on dad’s hat and wear it proudly as it falls over our eyes. Some kids will even put on one of their dad’s shirts, which probably covers them from top to bottom, just because they want to wear what their dad wears. Many kids want to be just like their dads.
And while it is great that kids want to grow up to be like their dad, we need to be sure we are giving them an example worth growing up to follow. As fathers, let’s strive to give our children an example of what it looks like to love the Lord and His Word. We can do this by studying and meditating on the Word in view of our children (Psa. 119:97). Let’s demonstrate to our kids the importance of being actively and zealously involved in the work of the Lord (Rom. 12:11). Let’s show our kids an example of living a life devoted to doing the Father’s will. Abraham provided a great example of this in the sight of his son, Isaac (Gen. 22). Let’s model for our children how a godly man loves and cherishes his wife (Eph. 5:25-31). Young people today desperately need to see such an example of love and honor.
What kind of legacy do we as fathers want to leave for our children? A legacy of success from a worldly standpoint or a legacy of success as a faithful servant of the Lord? How we live today does not just have an effect on today or tomorrow, but it can have a generational effect for many years to come. Your kids may want to grow up to be just like you dad. Will that be something to be proud of?