A father and son were walking along one day.  The son looked up at the powerlines above and asked how electricity went through them; the dad said, “I don’t know much about electricity.”  The boy heard thunder in the distance and asked what caused it; his dad said, “I never really understood that myself.”  The boy asked how airplanes fly, why dogs and cats don’t like each other, and many other concerns; his dad always replied that he wasn’t sure.  Finally, the boy asked if his dad minded all the questions – to which the father said, “Of course not; how else are you going to learn?”

We may not know everything, but there are some things that we all must know.  We must know how to prepare the next generation to face life (especially eternal life).

Our foundation must be God and what He desires.  We must echo David’s words in Psalm 71:14-16: “But I will hope continually and will praise You more and more.  My mouth will tell about Your righteousness and Your salvation all day long, though I cannot sum them up.  I come because of the mighty acts of the Lord GOD; I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone.”

We must build on that foundation and help our children do the same.  His ways must be our ways.  We must follow David’s example that he describes in Psalm 71:17-18: “God, You have taught me from my youth, and I still proclaim Your wondrous works.  Even when I am old and gray, God, do not abandon me, while I proclaim Your power to another generation, Your strength to all who are to come.”

We must trust God at all times and in all ways, and we must help our children do the same.  We must recognize that as God has been faithful, He will continue to be faithful.  We must live out and loudly share what David learned in Psalm 71:19-21: “Your righteousness reaches the heights, God, You who have done great things; God, who is like You?  You caused me to experience many troubles and misfortunes, but You will revive me again.  You will bring me up again, even from the depths of the earth.  You will increase my honor and comfort me once again.”

These are things that we must know and share.

Father’s Day is a day that we honor fathers.  But, fathers, I urge you to honor our Heavenly Father by living for Him and helping our children do the same.

Happy Father’s Day!

And why don’t you check out the following book for a deeper look at how we can do it…