To Dad

As I begin to think about family, the role of dads or "Man of the House" is seriously so important to the welfare of the entire family. Our dads have such large shoes to fill. I'm not much of a fan of Mark Driscoll when he goes off about the authority of men and how women are to submit, but today (as I swallow my pride as a woman) I fully agree. Men are given authority over women in the house. This of course wasn't the initial design of marriage as Adam and Eve were initially equals as Scripture says they become ONE FLESH  and have dominion over the rest of creation (Gen 2). With the fall however (which is the fault of both Adam and Eve) there was a paradigm shift in power. The consequences of the fall is that Eve or woman's desire would be for her husband and he shall RULE OVER her (Gen 3:16). Likewise, Adam or man is cursed to work all his life.

With the fall, we see that there is great responsibility, perhaps more responsibility placed on men rather than women to take care of family. It is the man's job to lead the family according to how God wants it, and the woman is called to submit before her husband because her submission to him is as if she is submitting to God.  Sadly, I believe our generation has completely messed up God's intended purpose behind family and gender roles. I  see so often men who are burnt out and completely retreat from their families in exchange for "freedom;" other times, we see men completely abuse the authority given to them and rule the house in a manner that has nothing to do with God. God intended men to rule according to His plan, but when men lead apart from God, it is none other than abuse of power...or being a dictator! Women on the other hand, completely disrespect the head of the house and refuse to submit or support the husband unless he does something that is worthy to receive such treatment.  We have to recognize that regardless of whether the husband deserves it or not, God desires for us to love and support the men whom God has appointed as the head. Why do we do this? Because God loved us regardless of whether we deserved it...so I don't think it's in our place to argue who deserves what; if it were based on what we deserved in the first place, we wouldn't be the recipients of His grace

Now what does this all mean? Well, for one...I recognize that I've done a lousy job supporting my dad. I hadn't thought about how big and heavy the load is that is placed on my father. Instead I had been sometimes bitter or disrespectful towards his provisions thinking he wasn't living up to my expectations. I realize my dad, just like my sensitive mom, need lots of love and support from his family. I need to encourage my dad by letting him know that I recognize and appreciate his hard work and dedication towards our family. Also, if he's steering in the wrong direction, I need to gently encourage him to keep his eyes on God and follow God's lead. I realize the best way to encourage or remind my dad to follow God is by praying for him. Dads need so much prayer, and we simply don't do enough of that. Afterall, if the men in the family do well with God, then the rest of the family will be following in the right steps with God as well.

So, as the Holy Spirit has reminded me today...I will pray for my dad, and all current and future dads...and say a big THANK YOU to all who are doing such a great job leading our families. And especially the greatest thanks goes to the best Dad in the whole universe, our heavenly Dad, who shows us what it means to be a good and perfect father.