Commentary by David Salvatelli, Superintendent

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.  –3John 4

But as every parent knows, there’s a flip side.  And as good as it feels when they walk in truth, it hurts to the same degree when they don’t.  I have no greater pain than to see my kids messing it up. And the greater the mess, the greater the pain. And, boy, it’s easy to make big messes these days.

This husband and father thing is no piece of cake. Seems like being great at both very practically means doing the opposite of what I feel like doing. So I go shopping with my wife. And sit through “Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants”.  (No, actually I drew the line with that one.) And help Junior with math after a long day at school. And I walk him through one more time rolling up the garden hose when he’s done with it despite the fact that I told him so many times that the job isn’t done until the job’s put away… Truth is, being a great dad and husband really is correlated with the degree I can practice self-sacrifice both in the moment and over the long haul.  And while any of us can muster it for a day or even a week, how do we sustain over the long term the others-centeredness necessary if we’re to have positive influence over how our kids and families turn out?  Here’s a glimpse from Scripture of both the answer and a picture of it in action:    

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.  These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts.  Impress them on your children.  Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Deuteronomy 6:5-7

Okay, so that’s the destination.  Let’s assume we all get that and are all for it.  How does it become the reality of our family life?  How do we get there? To start with, if a family is blessed with a resident, full-time dad, the bee-line to the destination is through him. (For those that, sadly, do not, mom’ll have to compensate and lean on the Lord to fill in, which, by the way, He’ll be faithful to do. But for now, let me talk dads.) God has ordained dad to be His instruments not only of provision but of instruction, correction and leadership in the family. And yet too few have embraced the full dimension of the power God has invested in the role. No wonder considering the prevalence of messages contrary to that concept abounding throughout our media and culture. (If you doubt it, name right now three “model dads” in a biblical sense on popular TV today?  How about two? One maybe? Now try to name a few “dads” who are portrayed as either not so smart, self-centered or prone to foolishness?  Easier, isn’t it?)  Too, in many families it’s the mom who’s “the spiritual one,” making it really easy for the dads lay off the role of spiritual leader, especially when mom knows the Bible better…  While both of those are reasons, neither is an excuse. We dads are still the dads with both the position and responsibility to lead our families. 

Love the Lord with all we got and make Him the center of ourselves and our families.  If it sounds really good to you but doesn’t describe your reality, here’s what to do: pray.  And keep praying until it is so.  It really does change things.  Scripture is clear: if we pray in accordance with God’s will, it will be granted us (John 15:7).  And is there any doubt it’s what God wants for you and yours? 

Dear Lord, Help me to love youand make you the center of my life. Help me to love your Word. And to be the dad today that helps my kids grow to know You, love You and walk in your ways.