Apostle Paul said “for this cause, I bow my knee unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; Of whom the whole Family in heaven and earth is named” ~ Ephesians 3:14 – 15
This scripture shows that every family on earth derived their root from our Heavenly Father who created us in His own image and likeness (Father, Son and Holy Spirit).
Every male (man) who is a potential father derive his origin from our Heavenly Father; that means every father on earth is a representative of God in their families ..
On this premise, we can describe every father on earth as a god in their families; for He entrusted us with the sacred title of ‘FATHER’.
Jesus Christ referred to God as “Father” meaning Christ belongs to a Family- God the Father, the Son and the holy Spirit. The Trinity Family (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) exists on mutual relationship that is strongly based on Unity and Love.
There is a culture of unity and love highly promoted and displayed amongst the Trinity because the three are one. There is a transference of this same culture and nature of love and unity into every man (Father) when God said let us create man in our own image and likeness.
Our Father went ahead in expressing his love for us by adopting us into the God’s Family not because we deserved it or are worthy to be loved but through his Adoption of Sonship.
1John 3:1: “Behold, what manner of Love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God; and such we are”.
Culture can be defined as all the behaviour, ways of life, arts, beliefs and institution of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture can be called the way of life of a society.
Our FATHER in heaven is the initiator of heavenly culture of unity and love among the Trinity. It is expected of the earthly FATHERS to promote this same culture of love in our families just as God expected.
Fathers are initiators of Culture and they must be an embodiment of Christ’s belief, behaviour, principle and values. They must learn to train, develop and build their families on Christ’s culture.
Christ Culture is all about LOVE. For God so love the world that he gave his only begotten SON; this is the most precious sacrifice given to mankind by God.
Christ was given to us in love without any attached conditions.
Christ said, ” A New Commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another, as I have loved you” Fathers likewise, ought to build their families with unconditional love.
The father is the head of the family just as Christ is the head of the church, as such Fathers are obligated to love their wives and family members as Christ loved the church.
Fathers are to be guiding LIGHTS whose LOVE shows the way.
Fathers are to provide the light to guide their families with Love. They are to exemplify and exhibit Love to everyone they come in contact with in the society.
The increase in the prevailing menace and social vices seen today, such as cultism, prostitution, drug addiction, kidnapping, homosexuals, Lesbianism, robbery etc in our communities, Societies and the world are caused as a result of the gross darkness that has covered the face of the earth.
These vices and menace require the guiding light of Fathers to radiate more in homes, work places, worship centers, etc, and such light of love will eventually radiate to the entire world.
How can the Light of the Father dispel the darkness of these social vices that is ravaging our immediate and the society at large? below are the few tips that can be adopted by the fathers to reduce some of these social vices.
i. Fathers must be in CHRIST and not in crisis.
A Father should be able to say to his family, ‘’ follow me as I follow Christ’ ’. The eternal destiny of our children has been placed in the hands of the parents but more particularly on the shoulder of the fathers. Who is leading the father will determine how he will lead his family. Fathers must be in Christ so that they can lead their homes based on the virtues of Christ.
ii. Fathers must lead their Children to Christ.
Fathers are to lead their children to Christ at their tender age, so that they may know who Christ is and also inculcate the values of Christ into them while they are still young.
Winning their Souls for Christ at this tender age, will go a long way in solving or reducing the societal challenges.
Children growing up with these values will help in building an ideal family that is required for healthy society where there will be minimal vices. This will be a Bottom up approach in solving the leadership challenge in our society because once the Family who is foundation of the society can be addressed, it will help in building future and quality leaders needed.
Fathers are the required LIGHT to dispel the darkness in today’s dark world, to make it a better place for us ALL to live in.