My Walk with Christ Guidelines
Topic: THE CRY FOR THE BLESSING OF A FATHER ~ By Cephas Aziabou
Anchor Scripture:
Ephesians 6:2 Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; 6:3 That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.
This write-up seeks to acknowledge the vital role of a father, reminding all fathers of their relevance and to invite children and mothers to honor fathers.
A survey has shown that the majority of children tend to appreciate their mother more than their father. Geher (2018) in his article titled "5 Reasons kids tend to put Mom ahead of Dad" cited that data of Forbes showing that fathers come second when the children are spending on their mother and father. According to that data there is 40% difference of what Americans spend on their mother on Mother's Day as compared to what they spend on the fathers on Father's Day. Well, they have their reasons which may be valid. I personally wrote an article not too long ago in honor of mothers titled "My mother was a prostitute". The article sought to appreciate the mothers for their inevitable sacrifice towards their respective families.
However, it is important we settle the argument that the two parents are equally important and for that matter relevant. In our anchor scripture for instance, the writer by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit instructs that parents should be honored. Let it be so and let no one turn it upside down. It is the will of God that parents are honored irrespective of what they do or don't do.
Talking about fathers, it is possible we relegate them to the background because they seem to be doing just a little as compared to mothers. However the role of a father is undeniable, a role that mothers may not be able to play. Fathers have the unique role of INFLUENCING THE DESTINY OF THEIR CHILDREN AND HENCE THE DESTINY OF THE NEXT GENERATION.
Beside this role, a father does many other things which we may not mention in this article. We shall rather concentrate on the priesthood of the father. Among these other duties of a father, we can mention the duties of provision and protection.
Exodus 22:22 Ye shall not afflict any widow, or fatherless child.
A home without a father is a vulnerable home and therefore a broken home. For that matter God had to make a law in that regard not to touch the widow and the fatherless. This is so obvious in our communities where fathers turn irresponsible, creating the situation of single motherhood. Children raised by single mothers, mostly become wayward in our society due to financial pressure or societal vulnerability. This points to the fact that a father is as important as a mother.
Let us now narrow the role of a father down to the role to influence the destiny of the children. This role of a father can be divided into two: natural and spiritual.
The natural role of a father to influence the destiny of his child is traced to the birthing process. Science reveals that fathers determine the sex of the children born of them. Fathers give a combination of chromosomes XY whilst mothers give solely XX. During a sexual intercourse, the mother will always give X but the man sometimes X to result in a female and some other times Y which results in a male. We are all who we are gender based because of our father. This phenomenon has gradually influenced our culture in that the last name of the new born baby is the father's name. And in most cases , naming the child is the duty of the father.
Talking about the spiritual role of a father to influence the destiny of the child is so obvious in that a father is the God figure in the life of his children. It is important to note that the book which contains the wholesome counsel of God has acknowledged the headship of a father and for that matter the priest or the spiritual father in the family.
1 Corinthians 11:3 But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.
The so called women emancipation that seeks to equate woman with man though I'm not against it if in its application does not give the honor to men as heads over the women is no wisdom but the wisdom of men and so of the devil.
The father has the unique role to bless or to curse his children. The Bible records myriad of cases where destinies were influenced by fathers. For instance the destinies of Jacob and Esau were influenced by their father Isaac.
Genesis 27:37 And Isaac answered and said unto Esau, Behold, I have made him thy lord, and all his brethren have I given to him for servants; and with corn and wine have I sustained him: and what shall I do now unto thee, my son? 27:38 And Esau said unto his father, Hast thou but one blessing, my father? bless me, even me also, O my father. And Esau lifted up his voice, and wept.
Isaac has finished blessing Jacob not too long after Esau comes to be blessed. The Bible says Esau wept for his blessing and the father blessed him also. I became emotional when reading this: how a son cried for the father's blessing not the father's car or house. Is there not a treasure close to us that this generation has put aside and now chasing the wind? The persons Esau and Jacob became later in life was determined by their father Isaac's blessing. Time will not allow me to take you through GENESIS 49 that is concentrated on the blessings and the curse of Jacob as declared on his twelve children. Fathers are a blessing if honored.
THE DUTY OF CHILDREN TOWARDS A FATHER
In Genesis 9, we witness another scene where a son was cursed by his father whilst the other two were blessed by the same father.Genesis 9:22 And Ham, the father of Canaan, saw the nakedness of his father, and told his two brethren without. 9:23 And Shem and Japheth took a garment, and laid it upon both their shoulders, and went backward, and covered the nakedness of their father; and their faces were backward, and they saw not their father's nakedness.
Ham saw the nakedness of his father Noah and exposed it. By the act of exposing his father's nakedness, Ham was cursed by the father. Fathers may make themselves naked in the process of time but what we do with their nakedness determines our future. Mothers, stop inciting your children against their father! You may be doing them more evil than good.
Whilst Ham was cursed, Shem and Japheth were blessed. These two provided for the covering of their father's nakedness. Your father's nakedness or weakness can be an avenue for your greatness if you respond to it positively.
Seeing the vital role of a father, God has proven throughout the scripture to be the father of the fatherless and the husband to the widow. He therefore welcomes both the fatherless and the widow to trust HIM.
Psalms 68:4 Sing unto God, sing praises to his name: extol him that rideth upon the heavens by his name JAH, and rejoice before him. 68:5 A father of the fatherless, and a judge of the widows, is God in his holy habitation.
In the absence of your earthly father, God says don't worry He is your father. Amazing! Take a minute and just thank God! Personaly I can't hold my tears; God is love indeed.
THE RESPONSIBILITY OF OTHERS TOWARDS THE WIDOW AND THE FATHERLESS
If God does not want us to afflict or take advantage of the fatherless and the widow, then in the contrary he wants us to care for them.James 1:27 Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world.
You and I have the responsibility to cater for the fatherless and for the widow.
In conclusion, fathers are as relevant as mothers. We get what we do with them. We may not be able to live a fulfilled life when we dishonor fathers.
Happy Father's Day to all fathers. I pass by this medium to thank my step father Kofi Tenyo, who came in at the time I lost my father. I want to thank God for the life of the father God has brought into my life when all hope was gone, Rev. Dr. Emmanuel Sackey.
God richly bless you and keep you!
Cephas Aziabou Godson (visionary)
God bless you for reading!
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ANAM......Our generation in all nations for Christ!!




