Tonight I had the joy of sharing these thoughts with our church family. Perhaps they will be of some help to your family. My dad has been one of my greatest teachers. All fathers teach more than they realize, and more than their children realize until later in life.
As a boy I enjoyed asking preachers to sign the flyleaf of my Bible and share their favorite verse. Occasionally I look back through those signatures with fond memories of many who taught me God’s truth. One day it dawned on me that I had never asked my own dad to sign my Bible. He was reluctant to do so but, when he did, he signed it differently than all of the rest. It said:
Proverbs chapter 3, Your dad, Roger E. Pauley
I knew that wasn’t his life verse. He always signed his name with Galatians 2:20. Why would he put Proverbs 3 in my Bible? When I turned to it I soon discovered that it is a father’s proverb. Not only the words of an earthly father, but the wisdom of the Heavenly Father.
You can read the entire chapter for yourself, but listen to the father’s heart in the opening verses…
My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. Let not mercy and truth forsake thee: bind them about thy neck; write them upon the table of thine heart: So shalt thou find favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.
Proverbs 3:1-4
As I have walked through this chapter again and again I have realized that the greatest truths I ever learned from my father are summarized here.
- He taught me how to enjoy the journey (v. 1-4): build your life around the unchanging truth of God’s Word!
- He taught me to live by faith (v. 5-6).
- He taught me to keep my head straight and my heart clean (v. 7-8).
- He taught me that you can’t out give God (v. 9-10).
- He taught me that following the Lord is a way of life (v. 11-26).
- He taught me how to treat others (v. 27-31).
- He taught me that the blessing of the Lord is the greatest thing on earth (v. 32-35).
The most wonderful thing a father ever teaches his children is to know God. Thanks, dad, for teaching me. With my Heavenly Father’s help I hope to teach the same to my children.
With tears flowing down my cheeks allow me to say that I am grateful you have a Christian father! Some of us did not have that privilege and opportunity. (For that, I have learned to trust God’s omniscience.) Allow me to share: FOUR TRUTHS MY UNSAVED DAD TAUGHT ME–
1. Dad taught me to be “steadfast, unmoveable” (I Cor. 15:58) in my faith, even without the support of one I loved–“the glory of children” (Prov. 17:6b).
2. Dad taught me the importance of fervent, unending prayer–as I prayed for him (and requested prayer for him) decade after decade after decade. (Dad did get saved in his late 80s, on November 1, 2011.)
3. Dad taught me the importance of a Christian home (Ps. 127:1)–having not grown up in one.
4. Dad taught me that the LORD will be a Father to me (Ps. 10:14, 27:10, 68:5, 119:111).
My desire for all is a Christian father and a Christian home. But if one does not have that privilege and opportunity…the LORD is faithful!
Amen! Very good.