Ten years ago today I wrote and sent out
this weblog about fatherhood in honor of Father’s Day. Sadly, the
concerns I raised back then have not gotten any better – only worse. But,
over the course of this past decade I have become more and more convinced that
reliance on God’s Word is the only answer for the overall decline of society.
Also, I am convinced that a bible-based modeling of fatherhood, by the world’s
fathers, is ground zero for changing a rapidly deteriorating society.
Allen Raynor Weblog: Fatherhood (June 13, 2007)
In the early years of television the family was represented in a way quite
different than it is today. Instances of persons living together outside
the bonds of marriage, single parenthood by choice, homosexuality, etc. were
almost unthinkable. By the 1970s television reached a critical turning
point from which it has never recovered. Since that time the downward spiral
has continued without mercy. Along with America’s growing comfort level
with homosexuality, cohabitation, the non-traditional family, and sex outside
marriage, we have seen an increasingly hostile attitude develop towards
traditional family values. Many factors contribute to the problems we now
find ourselves facing and there is no quick and easy solution.
Perhaps more than at any other point there have been increasingly severe
attacks centering upon the whole concept of fatherhood. It is not uncommon
today for a woman to go to a sperm bank to become impregnated without even a
man in her life. Homosexual and lesbian couples are, in some cases, now
able to adopt children. That which would have been almost unimaginable
even 20 years ago is now just part of life. God however does have much
to say about these issues. The magnificent truth is that His voice in all
of this is not just another opinion but is the definitive Word!
Rosie O’Donnell and her cohorts may think they have a corner on the truth but
they most surely do not know the God of the Bible!
Fatherhood is highly celebrated in the pages of Scripture. Specific
guidelines are given to a father as to how he should lead his family and his
home. He is never called upon to be perfect but to be God-honoring in his
conduct as he raises his children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord
while genuinely loving his wife. Real men do not bow out of the picture
when the going gets tough. Instead they step up to the plate. Our
society has a lot of easy outs, or so it seems; abortion, separation, divorce,
etc. Real men do not opt for the easiest way, but the right way.
On the positive side of things there are many men who have indeed stepped
up. Many have difficult circumstances they face on the job, at home, with
extended family, with their children, and even habits they struggle with but
they choose to work through it because they have made a commitment. I
recently heard about a wedding ceremony in which the couple, instead of vowing
‘til death do us part,’ vowed ‘for as long as love shall last.’ What kind
of a commitment is that? Honestly it is no commitment at all. It is
essentially saying, “I’ll stay with you as long as I feel like doing so and
then I’m gone!” I hope the wife never burns the toast, or has a bad hair
day and I hope he is never late for dinner without calling or it is over!
Men by nature love a good challenge. Countless times in my own life I
have made it my mission to do something just because someone else told me I
could not do it. Not only that, I have lived with the mantra, “If
something is worth doing at all, it is worth doing right!” There has
never been anything more worthwhile than fatherhood! There has never been
anything so rewarding and fulfilling. There has never been anything which
will last so long and have a bigger impact. Fathers, we do thank you for
your investment in the lives of the next generation. Thank you for
caring. Thank you for fulfilling your God-given responsibility and living
out your God-given roles.
In Christ
Dr. Allen Raynor, Pastor
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