I saw Courageous last week. It was an incredible movie. I highly recommend it to everyone. It's not perfect, but it's inspiring and it deals with real issues of parenting and being a dad that I personally deal with. Great for Christians to encourage them to embrace God's call to intentionally parent. Great for non-Christians to get to see how Christians think about the challenges and the solutions to parenting in our day and age.
My best endorsement of the movie is that it's made me want to grow as a Dad. What does the Bible say about what makes a great parent? It's pretty simple, though not easy for all it's simplicity. Ephesians 6:4 sums up the role of parenting with one thing to do, and one thing not to do.
Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
So, two things:
- Do not provoke your children to anger.
- But bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord
Let's flesh this out a little:
1. Do not provoke your children to anger. Do not make them angry. Do not exasperate your children. Do not make their lives difficult, or frustrate them. Do not debilitate them with frustration. Do not pile on them. Do not parent out of convenience for yourself, but parent out of love for your children. Do not make them angry. For me, this means I need to be more patient and more present.
2. Raise them in the Lord's discipline and instruction. This is a command to have your parenting mirror God's parenting. Raise your children as God raises his children. According to this verse, God raises his children through discipline and instruction. God disciplines out of love, not anger (Psalm 103:13). God instructs us so that we would become mature in Christ (Colossians 1:28). This is done through gospel discipleship.
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