BIBLICAL FATHERHOOD--THE GREAT NEED OF THE WORLD 3. c) THE GREATEST ROLE GIVEN TO MAN continued.

Genesis 26:24 says, "And the Lord appeared unto him (Isaac) the same night, and said, I am the God of Abraham thy father: fear not, for I am with thee, and will bless thee, and multiply thy seed for my servant Abraham's sake."

I wrote yesterday that I don't believe it is possible for any of us to be the fathers God intends us to be without a close personal relationship with God as our own true Abba Father. It is true that there are men who are very good fathers in a natural sense. Some of these fathers, sad to say, are often better fathers than many so called "Christian" fathers. However, we must not make the mistake of equating fatherhood purely from a natural standpoint only.

The fatherhood God is calling for has a strong spiritual aspect to it also.

Biblical fatherhood covers the children with prayer.

Biblical fatherhood imparts the Scriptures and spiritual values to the children.

Biblical fatherhood teaches the children how to resist all evil.

Biblical fatherhood shows by example how to have God's blessing and favor on their lives.

In the above Scripture we see the amazing example Abraham was to Isaac. God's statement to Isaac that He was Abraham's God, and that He would bless Isaac for his father's sake must have blessed Isaac in an amazing way.

In today's world, would such a statement by God to our own sons be a blessing to them?

Some sons may reply to God, "But I did not really know my father that well. He never had time for me." But, Abraham was a "Friend of God" (James 2:23). Obviously, one could not be a friend of God who is the greatest Father and not have one's own fatherhood greatly influenced for good.

Be encouraged. Colin