Look Out, Dad…I’m Behind You!

I remember when my dad first began teaching me to use the riding lawn mower. I couldn’t wait! I had seen him and my brother running around the yard on that thing and it looked like fun. What I didn’t realize was that a lawn mower had different speeds. When he put ME on it for the first time, he put it in first gear. As I was poking along, I remember thinking to myself, “Man, this sure did look a lot faster when THEY were doing it.”

Another thing my dad did was he would cut the first path around the yard. After he made the first path, it became the pattern for me to follow. As long as I followed the path he took first, I would be ok. When I was finished, I would be blessed with a nicely-mowed lawn, but only because I went after my father.

That is a biblical principle. Proverbs 20:7 says, “The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.” I can look back now, as an adult, and see how that many of the blessings I have received in my life were due (in large part) to my father’s godly life.

I want to be that kind of man. I want my children to be blessed because of MY life. According to this verse, the children of this man are blessed because:

1. HE IS A “FORGIVEN” MAN

This verse says he is a “just man.” The word “just” means righteous. It is the same word God used to describe Noah in Genesis 7:1: “And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous (or just) before me in this generation.”

The best way to ensure your children are blessed, is by knowing your sins have been forgiven and you have trusted Christ as your Lord and Savior.

2. HE IS A “FAITHFUL” MAN

It says that the just man “walketh in his integrity.” He is an honest man and therefore you can depend on him. His word is his bond. He is faithful to do what he says he will do. I believe that first of all means he is faithful to the LORD and it is evident by the choices and the decisions he makes in his life.

3. HE IS A “FAMILY” MAN

The last part of this verse says, “his children are blessed after him.” He sowed the right kind of seeds and taught his children to sow the same seeds. Therefore, they get to reap the same beautiful harvest. This just man is a family man because he not only has fathered children, but he has taught them what it means to love God and live for Him.

Dads, can I challenge you to beware of the way you are leading (or mis-leading) your children? If your children could say one thing to you, it would probably be, “Look out, Dad! I’m behind you!”

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