Category Archives: Fathers

Bible, Blessed, Christ, Fathers, Heritage, Promises, Romans, Scripture

WHAT A HERITAGE!

ROMANS 9:5

“whose are the fathers, and from whom is the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever. Amen.”

I wish I had more time to dig into my family heritage. I never really talked to my parents about their deep family heritage. I sure wish I had. I know nothing about my father’s extended family. I am thankful for the genealogy sites out there that can help us find that information. I have mentioned before that I have traced the Willis line back to 1555 in England. I wonder how many of those ancestors knew Jesus. I’ll find out one day, won’t I?

Paul goes into the last two points of his kinsmen’s heritage before ending the verse with an exaltation to Christ. Paul is undoubtedly thinking about Abraham, Issac and Jacob. Perhaps Moses or Elijah or Jeremiah were on his mind. These were the “fathers” he mentions here. But the high claim is that through his nation came Jesus Christ in the flesh. God chose the Jewish nation to bring forth the Savior of all mankind. Praise be to God for His faithfulness.

APPLICATION

This is not a verse that needs a lot of deep interpretation. It’s pretty straightforward. The question is then, what do we do with it. Remember, every single word in the Scriptures is God-breathed. For me, I believe the Lord is, first of all, reminding me of the importance of my legacy. It should not be about making a great name for myself. It should only be about making Him known. I want my family to remember me as man who sought to please the Lord in all he did. That’s legacy enough for me.

Secondly, this verse today commands me to glorify Jesus for all He has done and the Father for sending Him. Look at Paul’s words again. “the Christ according to the flesh, who is over all, God blessed forever.” It seems Paul just bursts out in praise for Jesus. Shouldn’t we do the same? May the praise of Jesus be always on our minds and tongues. Afterall, He is “over all.”

I want to encourage you today to walk in Christ as if this is the last day on earth for you. What would you do differently if you knew that? Who would you reach out to? Strive to leave your name representing Him. Representing means we re-present Him. That requires us to live it out and talk about it. Present Christ to someone today. Tell the story of how He changed your life and how He can change theirs. Just be Jesus today.

I am so thankful for my earthly heritage but so much more thankful, Lord, to be in the heritage of Christ. I belong to His family now.

If the Lord should lead you to support our ministry, check out our ministry page at Trans World Radio (www.twr.org/carl-willis). 

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Bible, Discipline, Discouragement, Fathers, Scripture

DON’T BREAK THEIR SPIRIT

COLOSSIANS 3:21

“Fathers, do not antagonize your children, so that they will not become discouraged.”

When our children were young, they would sometimes misbehave and have to be disciplined. That old saying you may have heard as a child, “This is going to hurt me more than it hurts you,” is so true. I never liked to discipline my children, especially when I spanked them (don’t call protective services on me, lol). Often my wife would remind me, “Don’t break their spirit,” before I dealt with the issue. She was so right.

In this letter to the Colossians, Paul warns fathers not to “antagonize” their children, which really means not to stir up or provoke them to anger. The Ephesians equivalent is found in Ephesians 6:4, “Fathers, do not exasperate your children, instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.” Both verses stop a negative action. Here in Colossians, Paul does not want these fathers to cause their children to be discouraged, to have their spirits broken. Let’s look at that.

APPLICATION

The Greek word for “will not become discouraged” is athumeo, which comes from a (not) and thumos (spirit or passion). I love how Strong’s Lexicon describes this. “The concept of thumos was associated with the inner drive or passion that propelled individuals to act with bravery and determination. Thus, athumeo would have been understood as a significant emotional state, reflecting a loss of this vital inner drive.”

Paul is saying, “Don’t break their spirit.” When you correct your children, don’t come down so harsh that their little spirits are crushed. This can have long lasting effects on your relationships. It’s curious to me that Paul doesn’t tell mothers not to do this. A mother is more prone to nurture their child, to be more sensitive. It’s the fathers who are normally the harsh ones.

Unfortunately, I have seen far too many children being harshly criticized and discouraged. I’ve seen it in store checkout lines. I have seen it in restaurants and parking lots. I often wonder if this is how they are treated in public, what happens behind closed doors. Lord, protect these vulnerable little spirits.

Father, give every father the capacity to handle their children with Your compassion and mercy.

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