Fathers Who Lead in Love

“Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment.”

Matthew 22:37-38 (King James Version)

We’ll get right to the point. Love is not an emotion. Yeah, that tripped us up the first time we heard it. We know it goes against conventional wisdom and cultural propaganda, but love is a choice. Our feelings are emotion-based, and within that swirl of undulating experiences, we may think love is wrapped within, but to love someone is first decide to love them. 

Most of us experience performance-based love. Be a good boy, make good grades, clean up your room, and the list goes on. We learn to earn our parents’ approval by doing good deeds. That leads to dissatisfaction and eventually rejection. 

Love is unconditional. Loving unconditionally is a journey and not a destination. Where do we find such an example of unconditional love? The answer is God the Father. Isn’t it incredible we don’t have to look very far to discover an example for fathers who lead in love? What’s even easier is that our perfect example is laid out in the most read book in the history of the world—the Bible. As a matter of fact, the entire book is a love letter from our Father to us. 

Kids need a loving dad to lead them, not a demanding job site supervisor. As shown throughout the Bible, looking to God's example gives you a rock-solid foundation for not only being the man of the house but also being the big-hearted man of the house.  Our kids depend on this for their spiritual and moral formation.

Dad Action:

Describe a time when you didn't feel like loving, but you decided to love anyway.