If you’re a Dad, then it’s pretty likely you want to be a good one. Maybe even a GREAT one! Let’s talk about that , shall we?
Whether you ARE a Dad or only have one – Welcome to “Mornings with Bishop Robert” — thanks for joining me … My goal is to introduce people to the Jesus they never knew, and help them get to know Him and His word personally – and better ! If our time together today speaks to your heart, then let me invite you to like, subscribe and share it with a friend! So I’ve got a different cup here on the road, but Grab a cup and lift it up and let’s jump into today’s lesson.
I love being a Dad. Physically. Spiritually.
As I’ve shared in the past, I haven’t always been good at it. I think I’m getting better. (At least, I hope I’m getting better!!.) It is the kind of thing where you never arrive; always working on getting better and better.
It’s the enigma of fatherhood. Loving being a good father, seeing that in so many ways you’re not. And yet, striving to be the very best father you can be. Your failures loom larger than many of your successes, especially in your memory.
It’s a rare person who is able to look at someone being a father, and decide to pour into their lives to equip them to be a better one. You can’t just walk up to some stranger and say to them, “Hey there, why don’t you let me help you be a better father?” Sometimes I wish it were that easy, but it’s not. It requires relationship.
But once the relationship is there, then you get to see things that you might not see otherwise. And because the relationship is there, you get to say things you might not say otherwise.
Perhaps most importantly, because the relationship is there, people will hear things they might not listen to otherwise. With relationship comes a deepening sense of trust. A belief that, even when painful things need to be said, they are said with love and the best of intent.
That’s where today’s verse comes in. THE LORD CORRECTS THOSE HE LOVES, JUST AS A FATHER CORRECTS A CHILD IN WHOM HE DELIGHTS.
See, it’s not just fathers who need to be better fathers. Fathers help children grow to become better people. That’s kind of the job description. To help a child grow, you have to be willing to give correction.
For the fathers who truly have a father‘s heart, giving correction is not a matter of control or meanness. It’s a matter of delight. The truly loving father corrects a child in whom he delights. The father sees the potential. He understands the impact that little small choices can make on big outcomes.
Drifting to one side of the road while you drive will eventually bring you to the ditch unless you correct it. You don’t want to wait until the last minute. The best drivers make their corrections almost imperceptibly. They make driving look easy. As anyone who has driven knows, driving is anything but easy. Practice develops skill, skill develops reflexes, reflexes support experience.
And experience is formed by making corrections. Initially based on outside information, but eventually you see what OUGHT to be corrected before it becomes a major issue. Before the car ends up in a ditch. Our heavenly father knows that. He knows that if he offers correction before we hit the ditch The process is much less painful.
You can learn a lot by making your own mistakes. We all do that. But the best way to learn BIG lessons is from someone else’s experience. I can learn how important a seat belt is from driving past an accident; I don’t need to wait until I’m in one. There’s a billboard I’ve seen of a van swerving across a road . The front of the van has been crushed in a collision. Three of its wheels are in the air and it is just about to roll over. The caption says, “Not the time to check your child’s car seat.”
It is much, much better to learn to do the right thing BEFORE it becomes a life or death matter.
Accepting correction is an issue of trust. Do you trust that the one offering the correction has the wisdom and experience to speak into your life? Do you trust that they have your best interests at heart? If so, then choosing to listen is a mark of wisdom, intelligence and maturity.
Wisdom recognizes that our knowledge is limited, then deciding to trust the one with the greater knowledge. Intelligence recognizes that our experience may not have sufficiently developed our skills, so we decide to rely upon the one with more experience. Maturity recognizes that our limited knowledge and experience don’t lead us to the same conclusions, so we decide to trust the one who loves us enough to correct us.
The Lord loves us so deeply, He speaks correction into our lives.
THE LORD CORRECTS THOSE HE LOVES, JUST AS A FATHER CORRECTS A CHILD IN WHOM HE DELIGHTS.
Learn to listen. Learn to trust. Learn to obey.
