I used to take great pleasure submitting my resume. It was fantastic. Filled with accomplishments and accolades, the pages flowed from the first to the twenty-ninth. I loved reading it, and knew that everyone else did too – right?
Let me stop there before someone deletes this article without realizing its sarcasm.
Although, in there, are truths.
“I binged on the consumption of earthly crowns.”
During the years I spent chasing those empty accolades for the sake of placing a shiny “crown” upon my head and resume, I also earned a master’s degree and a PhD. Why? Because they were rare and that made them shiny and something more I needed for validation.
I’ve come to understand what is truly rare is the father willing to lay down his earthly crowns to serve the kingdom of Christ. Simply being a loving husband to his wife and mentoring father to their children is rare today.
Now lets throw in a blended family dynamic, and the father’s commitment to his and “those” kids becomes an even greater challenge. It’s one thing to have authority over your biological child, and the ability to control them while you rack up man-points in your hobbies and career. But blended families present men with the challenge of having to grow their authority over his new wife’s children. This sometimes stands in stark contrast and consumption of time spent chasing earthly crowns.
Men were called by God to be the head of their household, yet most men and fathers don’t even live in the same house as their wife or kids.
Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Let all that you do be done in love. –1 Corinthians 16:13-14
Men – I know your heart. You worry that if you don’t lean upon what you’ve earned or accomplished, then who are you and what kind of man will the others think you are.
We must concern ourselves with who God knows we are. We’re not fooling him by hauling in that ten-point deer, or limiting out on redfish, or even leading the kid’s sports team to an undefeated season.
What are we doing to serve Him? To seek His will? To do His work? To allow others to see Christ through you?
Did you know children learn their conception and identity of God through their earthly fathers? Think about the responsibility of that.
My dad loved me, but he was distant and expected his kids to abide by the rules. Even the unspoken ones. I never heard I love you from him, but he was my dad, so I knew he did. Right?
Do you know how I perceived God throughout my entire childhood and until I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior about 30 years ago? I knew there was a God, but I thought His job was to make sure I played by the rules.
Although I’d heard of 10 commandments, I had no clue if those were the rules I was supposed to follow. So, for all of those years, I just kind of tried to stay out of God’s crosshairs. There was no understanding of a loving, forgiving or merciful heavenly Father. This was learned from my relationship with my own dad.
So, let’s phrase it another way:
What is or will your child’s perceptions of God the Father be?
Want a true crown? Allow God to adorn you with a heavenly Father-Of-The-Year blessing.
Lead from the front,
Scott
We pray Laying Down Your Crowns has spoken to you. We’d love to know your thoughts.
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