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| "Spiritual Warfare" by Ron DiCianni |
Fathers,
if you don’t like the way your son walks, do not say to him, “Walk like a man.”
Instead, learn to hear his heart. Learn who he is. What makes him tick? What saddens him, and why? What is it for him to be who he was created to be?
The Father in heaven and our King, Jesus, have shown us the way of raising successful men—men who die having really lived. Men who die having loved honorably, spoken truthfully; men who die having cared for the wounded and the needy and the heartbroken and the sick and the dying and the orphaned; men who die having lived as Jesus lived. Men who don’t stop living even when they die.
We’re raising up immortals. Heroes.
Sons of God.
Do not say to him, “Walk like a man.” Tell him that he is a man. Tell him what the goodness of God looks like and find it in him. Pray for him.
Let him catch you with your hands raised on the crest of a mountain, enjoying the presence of the Living God.
Teach him like Jesus teaches his own—graciously, wisely, thoughtfully and spiritually.
Love him like God loves his own, in order that one day God might love the world through him.
When you fail him, ask him for his forgiveness and tell him that you’re learning too.
Tell him what makes you tick. Tell him about your dad. What was it like for you to be a son? What is it like now, being a son of The Father?
Tell him that you love him and that you trust him. Let him know you.
And when discipline comes, he’ll trust you through it.
While doing these things, you’ll notice his gate improving. Confidence will fall into his steps. You’ll begin to enjoy the way that he walks. He’ll start walking like his King. He’ll walk like a man.
This is how my Father in Heaven loves me.
"For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, 'Pappa! Father!'" Romans 8:15
