I cannot recall the number of times I have told people how much I enjoy getting older. I know that might sound like a strange statement, but remember what I said: “I enjoy getting older.” I didn’t say, “My body enjoys getting older!” Oh, my! Why didn’t some of you older people tell me not to play so much basketball when I was a kid and not to eat so many potato chips? Oh, well, lessons learned.
I have always enjoyed knowledge. It’s really fun to learn things. I was at a car dealership the other day when I met a man who had vitiligo. He told me something that I had never known about the cause of that skin condition. It was another piece of information that is good to know.
But what we are all really looking for is wisdom. A simple definition of wisdom is “biblical knowledge applied.” So when you take what the Bible says and apply it to your life, business, or relationships, you become the smartest person on earth!
Proverbs 20:7
The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
Ephesians 6:4
And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Proverbs 4:1
Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding.
Genesis 18:19
For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.
3 John 1:4
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
Proverbs 10:1
The proverbs of Solomon. A wise son maketh a glad father: but a foolish son is the heaviness of his mother.
As I get older, I realize the importance of fatherhood and parenting more and more. I watch how families raise their kids. I meet people who have had both good and bad home lives. It is usually pretty easy to see which parents invested a lot of time in their kids and which didn’t. It is typically very easy to see which parents invested a lot of the Word of God in their kids and which didn’t.
One day, before leaving to have lunch with one of my good friends, we were sitting in his office. He handed me his phone and said, “Take a look at this picture, Mark.”
It said this:
Dear Daddy,
Daddy, you are my hero, not some old man hidden in a pile of clothes. I will always love you, and you will always be my hero and role model. I will always trust you.
Sincerely,
Garrison
This came from Greg’s 11-year-old son. Greg gave me some of the other details:
I had been working a lot for my business as well as in the community on the Gwinnett Marta referendum, as I was the co-chair of the Advocacy Committee. I had gotten home late after the kids were in bed asleep –maybe 11 p.m. or later. While I didn’t cry, I felt that emotion of being so happy — happy that my son saw that I was not only working hard for my family but that I was working hard for our community. And he saw me as his hero and role model — can’t ask for much more. I did leave it on my mirror for a couple of weeks before the cleaning lady cleaned my mirror.
Hey, fathers, does it get any better than that? I have met a lot of people and have read about a lot of people who hated their fathers. And I do mean hated. And, of course, many didn’t even know their fathers.
What a great thing to hear from a child! Greg is doing something right. As he teaches all of his children the Word of God, they are seeing that he loves them unconditionally.
One time during my travels, I met an 18-year-old in a mall. We had a nice chat. He told me during our conversation that he did not grow up with his father. You could just hear and sense the anger in his voice. He was very mad that his father had abandoned him. So I asked him, “If you could change one thing about growing up, what would it be?” He looked at me and said, “One family dinner. Just one, where my mom, sister, myself, and dad sat at a table and ate together.”
I am going to be honest here; I almost started crying as he told me this. Wow. The things I took for granted as a kid. The importance of being together. The importance of stability. I guess none of us would ever realize these things unless we never had them. Be glad if you did, and then replicate and pass them down into the lineage of your family. If you don’t have any of these, then start a new tradition in your family today. Be the start of a great pattern within a great family unit, with the father in the lead.
http://www.wiseoldsayings.com/mirror-quotes/
Remember, every day is Father’s Day. We should be thankful for our fathers every day of our lives. And, fathers, every day is another day to impact the lives of your children, especially in an eternal way. I don’t care if your children are 35 or 40; you can still impact their lives. You don’t get a do-over in parenting. You don’t get a mulligan. One shot to raise great warriors for the Lord Jesus Christ. Go for it, and don’t worry about what the world says. Be a father (and mother) that Almighty God will be proud of.
You may never have a son who writes a message on your mirror like Greg’s son did, but live a life where it would be possible for one of your kids to do that. And if you have to go to work for a couple of weeks with a bunch of nicks on your face from shaving because you couldn’t see the mirror correctly, then that is okay, too!
Until the nets are full of many fathers and many fathers-to-be,
P.S.
