Being A Dad By Being A Teacher

Being a Dad by Being a Teacher

As a father of three, I have found that my greatest role is that of being a dad. I am constantly thinking of ways to better fulfill this God-given responsibility, and I am convicted to not just teach others in my role as a pastor, but to also proactively teach my children.

One of the things that I commonly see in believers is that they aren’t prepared for suffering. One of the lessons I wanted to teach my son Brady through Thirteen Going on Eighteen: Becoming a Man of Influence, the book I wrote for him, was the value of persevering through suffering. Here is what I wrote:

To persevere in faith, you will also have to reconcile suffering in your heart and mind. Suffering is a part of this “old order” of things. . . . The ultimate fulfillment of Christ’s kingdom will be the new heaven and new earth where there is a complete eradication of suffering. The Scripture declares,

Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever. (Revelation 21:3-4)

When Christ establishes his Kingdom, he will make “everything new” (Revelation 21:5). . . . Suffering is a result of sin and man’s choices. . . . No one is exempt from it. Don’t expect not to suffer, or your faith won’t sustain you when you do.

I want to encourage you to take the time to prepare your children for the sufferings of this age.

[God] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

Revelation 21:4