Courageous Fathers...

     Over the last few weeks, I have been encouraged to see how God has allowed several different things to coincide in a way that has been a poignant reminder of how incredibly vital the role of a father is in a child's life and what an immense responsibility so many of you men have as dads.  A little over two weeks ago, my church here in Lima rented out a movie theater and sponsored a showing of the new movie "Courageous".  It was exciting to see the theater sold out and the many unsaved guests who came and were challenged to be better fathers, better husbands, and committed followers of Christ. I myself had already seen the movie once in the States, but for whatever reason (maybe because it was the second time, maybe because it was in Spanish, I don't know...), the movie had a much more profound impact on me the second time.  Even though I am not a father, nor will I ever be one, someday I do hope to be married to one and I was challenged in a fresh way in relacion to the kind of man he needs to be, for me, yes, but more importantly, for our children.  All of that has been continually reinforced through the sermon series that my pastor has been preaching for the last couple of weeks.  He has been teaching from Ephesians 5 on what it means to have a happy home and how to achieve that goal, and has been especially emphasizing the role of the father in that process, as a leader and as an example for the rest of his family.  A particular comment last week resonated with me in a unique way.  In talking about verse 25 of Ephesians 5, which says, "Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her", my pastor asked the question, "Why am I going to love my wife?" There are many responses a man could give: because of the romantic feelings I have for her, because God commands me to, because she needs that love...and the list goes on.  My pastor said, "All of those reasons may be valid reasons for loving my wife, but there is another reason that motivates me to love my wife in a real and tangible way and that is this: I have two daughters who are watching me.  And I cannot expect them to wait for a man who will love them in a way that I myself am not demonstrating in the way that I love their mother.  And I have two sons. How can I expect them to be a kind of husband and father that I myself am not being?"   Dads, don't ever underestimate the power of your example to your children.  That reality hit home for me in a tangible way this Friday as I sat at my desk correcting a writing assignment I had given the previous Monday.  I had given a writing prompt that said, "If you could change one thing about one of your family members, what would it be and why?"  I didn't make it very far in correcting before I found myself in tears in the silence of my classroom.  Because of my 20 students, almost three-quarters of them had written, "I wish my dad would work less and spend more time with me."  Even the students who had only written three sentences (although they were assigned to write a page) included something to that effect.  Dads, do not underestimate the power of the time that you spend with your children.  If your work (or some other activity) is your first priority, trust me, your children know it.  Your impact on your child's life is not neutral.  It is either positive or negative.  No matter how difficult a responsibility it may be, don't miss out on the tremendous opportunity you have to make a positive impact on your child through your leadership and your example.