# 294 06/13/05 Good time to celebrate influence of our father

Next Sunday is Father’s Day. There is no better time to celebrate the influence that fathers have on their children. Dan Davidson of Focus on the Family wrote, “A father's greatest influence is not what he teaches his children. It is who he is. It is not the pride he instills through great accomplishment or recognition. It is the presence he shares, the time spent with his kids, the love for his family he models, the values and priorities by which he lives, the commitment he makes to his God.”

Throughout my four-generation collection of family photos I have numerous pictures of children mimicking their dads. Classics include a little girl resting her chin on the palm of her hand just like the dad in the picture and a son leaning back in a chair with his hands clasped behind his head just like the dad sitting beside him. Children mimic their parents, especially their dads.

Because children mimic, the most important thing that a father can do for his children is to be the kind of godly person he wants his children to be. He may quote Bible verses to them, attend all their activities and lovingly tuck them into bed each night. However, if he does not love God and his fellow man in all walks of his life, the rest will not produce fruit.

I thank God every day that my son-in-law places a high priority on time with his sons. I am sure that the stresses of his job would justify his “crashing” when he gets home. However, he chooses to play with two eager, rowdy boys. He models for them how a godly man treats his wife. He treats others, even his mother-in-law, in a loving and honorable way. His sons see him reading his Bible. They know that he trusts and obeys God.

Is my son-in-law perfect? Probably not. Is he unique among fathers? No, thankfully, there is a swelling tide of fathers who want to be the kind of godly men that their children can imitate. I am thankful for all the fathers who selflessly parent in obedience to God. They will produce a generation of godly men and women.

Fatherhood is an enormous responsibility. It is the wise father who recognizes his tremendous influence on his children and his inadequacy for the task. Only then will he understand that he must seek his heavenly Father’s guidance in every aspect of his life.