Ray Hinson, my Dad.
I never really watched the show, Father Knows Best, but back then,
fathers were portrayed as a true patriarch of the family. Today, fathers
are portrayed as bumbling fools always getting things wrong and
constantly being corrected by their “got it together” wife and children.
What happened?
Does father really know best? Yes.
The older I get, the more I can reflect back on what my father did for his family, the sacrifices made and the example he gave us. What I know about being a father today is profoundly influenced by my dad.
We all have a Father in Heaven and he created this world and everything
in it, including fathers. Why did he do that? Are fathers really
necessary? Beyond the nostalgic view that we might have of fathers, what
role do they actually play in a biblical family?
First and foremost they are the head of the house. Period. Final decisions,
approvals, and direction are given by the father. They are also the
spiritual leader, protector and provider for the family. Unfortunately,
many men have abdicated their role in all of these areas.
I look up to my dad. He has taught me so much and I didn’t even know he
was doing that. When he kissed Mom and held her hand, he was teaching me
romance and love. When he would sit at the kitchen table and work
through the bills or stay late at the hardware store to get ready for
the next day, he was teaching me hard work and responsibility. When he took
me fishing or blackberry picking, he was teaching me to love the small
things in life. When he would come to every sporting event I ever
played, he was teaching me sacrifice and when he was caring for mom in
her last days he was teaching me courage, beyond anything I can
comprehend.
God does have a purpose for fathers. The world tells us we are
unnecessary, that women can make it on their own. I guess they can but
it’s not God’s design.
As I look at my own life as a father, I can either grimace under the
weight of the world on my shoulders or consider my father and his father
and his father and understand what they’ve gone through. It’s a legacy
that gives me courage to lead my family.
My role as a father, according to God, places me over my family and
their leader and guide. Dana expects me to lead and the kids need me to
lead.
God has made explicit his will that parents, as the immediate generating
source of individuals, are to be revered for that very fact, and the
rights of parents are to be honored, by children and society. God has
created a hierarchy such that my children are directly answerable to me,
and then I answer to God. This doubles the father's responsibilities,
because I must account to God for the way I raise my children. While I
don’t consider them “property”, I am their steward.
God makes fathers by giving them children. They are mine and I am
responsible for their training.
Thanks Dad. The older I get the more I'm convinced that you do know best. Happy Father’s Day!
