What kind of father is worthy of honor? The most prominent way that God has spoken of himself has been in the role of a father.
Scripture says that God is a father to the fatherless. Matthew 6:9 tells us to pray, “our father”.
“The fatherhood of God is the source and pattern of all human fatherhood. Human fatherhood exists to display the beauty of God’s Fatherhood. When you see a good father, you are seeing a picture of God…” – John Piper
If you want to be a good father, watch how God fathers his children. Your children are learning what God’s fatherhood is like by watching you. There is a weightiness that comes with fatherhood since God reveals himself as a Father.
Satan wants to distort the vision of fatherhood in our culture. So how do men look to our heavenly father to learn how to live as men who are worthy of honor?
Psalm 112:1-10
1 Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!
2 His offspring will be mighty in the land;
the generation of the upright will be blessed.
3 Wealth and riches are in his house,
and his righteousness endures forever.
4 Light dawns in the darkness for the upright;
he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.
5 It is well with the man who deals generously and lends;
who conducts his affairs with justice.
6 For the righteous will never be moved;
he will be remembered forever.
7 He is not afraid of bad news;
his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.
8 His heart is steady;he will not be afraid,
until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.
9 He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever;
his horn is exalted in honor.
10 The wicked man sees it and is angry;
he gnashes his teeth and melts away;
the desire of the wicked will perish!
We will look at four things that make a man worthy of honor:
1. A man who fears the Lord.
Psalm 111:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom and all those who practice it have a good understanding.
The man of Psalm 112 has heeded the call to fear the Lord. So what does it mean to fear the Lord? This concept can be difficult to grasp because the Bible says to fear the Lord in other places. If you fear the right thing, all other things will be put in their place.
The fear of the Lord is to tremble and to rejoice. When you go too far into “trembling” you hide from the Lord, like Adam. If you go too far into rejoicing, you err in treating the Lord as common. Do fathers model the appropriate fear and rejoicing in the Lord? Their relationship with you should mirror this reverence. There should be respect and honor that is mingled with love and delight.
2. A man who delights in the commandments of the Lord.
A man worthy of honor will seek to live his life in obedience to God’s Word. He sees value in obeying God’s commands. His posture towards the word is one of delight and respect and obedience because he knows that God’s commands are good, beautiful, and true.
A father is called to be a teacher. You will teach verbally and nonverbally in your house. Your children will watch what you do and say.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Sometimes this will be in structured ways, other times it will be organic, where you will find ways to teach throughout the day. We pick up habits and lessons from our fathers. You will teach your children to delight and obey something – is it God’s Word?
3. A man who is generous with his life and his possessions.
If you walk in faithful stewardship, you may build material wealth, but more importantly y He has God himself He uses everything He has to be generous to other people. He knows how to use His wealth in a way that honors the Lord. Prosperity doesn’t destroy the holiness of his heart. Men who are worthy of honor are generous with their time, talent, and treasure.
4. A father who is worthy of honor is confident in difficult days.
He is confident on difficult days. Godliness doesn’t insulate you from bad things. Even in the dark days, a man worthy of honor emulates our Heavenly Father.
When the fear of God diminishes, the fear of everything else in life grows. Fear and anxiety are rising at an exponential rate. The godly man has a confident heart. He is holding to an anchor that is steadying his heart in the midst of his circumstances.
For the believer, our greatest enemies have been defeated in Christ. Death and sorrow don’t get the final word. Jesus does.
If you want to be a blessing to your children, your family, and your community, teach them to live for something greater than the material pleasures and the things of this world. Leave them a legacy of what it’s like to live for the Lord. At the end of the day, material things go. Everything in my house is going to a landfill one day. So, why would I model for my children to value temporary things that will one day fade away? God has equipped you to live this way. He has modeled this to you through Jesus Christ and He has empowered you through the Holy Spirit. You can connect with other men to stay encouraged.
When you blow it, look to Jesus. He was perfect in all the ways that you and I were not. I fail regularly. You can redeem the time, but my prayer is that my failure would push you back to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
