Hard Words For Dads

Doug Wilson writes:

But children need fathers to be fathers. They need fathers to draw a line, to set a boundary. They need limits. But they need these limits from a man who has established his wisdom in drawing them. The limits are not set for their own sake, but for the child’s sake. And they are not set all by themselves, but are balanced in the context of a gracious relationship — just as the numbers on checks should be balanced in the context of the numbers on deposit slips.

You can read the rest here.

Frankly, I’m a little scared of fatherhood. I’m still trying to figure out husband-hood. But, the more I think about it, the Gospel teaches me that I have a model to follow. For, my Father has done for me exactly what he calls me to do for my own (future) children. You’ll need to read the rest of article mentioned above for this to make sense, but God deposited more cash in my account than I could ever imagine. This is why He gets to write checks that are larger than I think I can handle. Like a kid. Or cancer. Or our very life. Because of what the Father did for us through the Son, there is nothing He cannot ask of us. There is nothing that He cannot ask us to endure. He’s drawing on an infinite deposit.

Now a human father’s relationship with his children is only “like” the one the Father has with us. So I think Doug is onto to something. Depositing into our children’s lives is the only way we write checks on their lives and not destroy our relationship with them. And writing checks on the deposits made is the only way to not destroy the child.

As Father’s Day approaches, I hope that we might do more to pray for fathers. Tis a narrow road with deep ditches on both sides that all fathers walk and we should all seek the grace of God on their behalf. May God help all men who seek to model Him in their homes.

~sdg