![]() Maybe he was just a vapor to you, walked away a long time ago leaving a gaping void. Maybe your dad was a heartless, cruel man who did things that scarred you. Maybe your dad tried his best but wasn’t a great father. Maybe you had a wonderful dad and have a lifetime of happy memories, and a few not-great ones - Celebrate that! But, maybe you’ve lost your dad. Watch the VideoĮxcerpted with permission from Bad Dads of the Bible by Roland C. So when their children hear, “Dear heavenly Father,” it’s winsome rather than worrisome. Godly fathers are to provide a pathway and a connection to God’s saving grace because when they give their children “good gifts,” it makes it much easier for children to connect with a heavenly Father who gave the best gift of all - His Son, who died on a cross for their sins. What Jesus is saying in this passage is that fathers should make sure their children have both physical and spiritual life. In contrast, the serpent is the symbol of the Evil One who seeks to thwart the gospel and lead humankind down a path of destruction and death. Of note, Jesus’ first disciples were fishermen whom He transformed into “fishers of men.” These men fervently shared the good news that salvation is available for all men. The fish is a key symbol of the Christian faith. ![]() Now consider the symbolism in the comparison of a fish to a serpent. Remember, stones were used to martyr Stephen. A stone, especially in the time of Christ, could be a tool of destruction and death. Bread was, and remains today, a key source of physical life and sustenance, and it represents spiritual life as Christ’s body, which was broken for the salvation of the world. ![]() Especially to a small child, a piece of bread and a small stone may look the same and feel the same. For example, consider the comparison of bread to a stone. When you contemplate the symbolism in Jesus’ examples in Matthew 7:9–11, a deeper meaning, especially for fathers, is evident. You see, I believe good fathers are an example of common grace, like the life-giving rain which falls on the righteous and the wicked alike (Matthew 5:45).īut there is more. In fact, if this were not the case, the entire analogy Jesus used loses its meaning. ![]() Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him! From God’s perspective, all fathers - even ones who are not Christians - are created to imitate His goodness. In this passage, Jesus is speaking to a group that must have included many fathers. Matthew 7:9–11 illustrates this quite clearly. His desire is for all fathers to reflect aspects of His character, an earthly mirror of a heavenly reality. Why? Because if fathers are distant, distracted, disconnected, or even abusive, children will believe all fathers are this way, even a heavenly Father who claims to love them unconditionally.īut this is clearly not God’s plan. Over the years, God has shown me that the attack on the institution of fatherhood and the strategy to make fathers unloving and ineffective is a primary goal of Satan himself. The Bible says our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Ephesians 6:12).
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