A Christian Father's Vision

Men like to watch. They like to watch sports or sit on the porch and watch cars go by. My father-in-law used to like sitting in his rocker and watch his children talk and interact with each other while his grandchildren played on the floor. He rarely said much, he just liked to watch his family as they gathered for meals and conversation taking great satisfaction in simply observing them.

Fathers also watch the direction of their children's lives. They can often predict the outcome of certain decisions or behavior long before the results are known and therein lies a Christian father's most important gift to his children, vision.

The common stereotype of the modern dad is that of an equal partner to his wife and a male role model to his children. But in order to produce a complete human being a parent also needs to instill spiritual values and a love of God into his children. This is where a Christian father's vision is so important. Without vision we are simply left to "watch" our children grow, get a good education, marry well, and "watch out" for their health and safety. Vision, on the other hand, enables a father to see the true goals in life (salvation, holiness, love, service, eternal life with Christ) and guide his children through life into these more important blessings and values.

Every father wants to watch his child win a prize or receive a diploma but the Christian father will continually share his spiritual vision and be content that he has given his child the better things.