Practical Words for Encouraging Your SonSample

Day Three

“I love hearing your ideas and dreams for the future.”

Scripture: Isaiah 55:8-9; Proverbs 22:6; Colossians 3:23-24

Life has a way of beating dreams out of young men. That’s why your son needs to know you’re genuinely interested in his ideas, aspirations, and thoughts about impossible deeds. 

I still remember talking with my mother when I was eighteen about my big plans to become a professional boxer. She was probably thinking, I don’t want my son to have his brains bashed in! But she just sat there smiling and listening with enrapt interest as I told her all about my intentions. The only problem was . . . well, just about everything. But that didn’t make her stomp on my thoughts. If I was excited about it, she was excited to hear about it. 

No, I didn’t get into the ring, ever, and that dream floated into thin air along with so many others. Your son was also created with a dream. Perhaps it is to become a hero, fight a battle, climb a mountain, be a world-class musician, win first prize at 4-H, or cross the sea into uncharted waters. Whatever his dream is, let him know that you love hearing about it and believe he can achieve it.

Along the way, remind him that reaching big dreams means being faithful in the little things first. Whether it’s taking out the trash for the thousandth time or completing some other mundane chore, wise parents help their sons see the connection between faithfulness today and a bright future tomorrow.

You might start by saying, “Hey, son, that’s a boring job, isn’t it?” There’s nothing wrong with honesty! But then you can give him a picture of what it means to provide an example for others—his brothers and sisters, his friends, or how about those future employees he might have one day? 

Explain to your son that even—especially—when no one is looking (except God), the way he disciplines himself is how he will lead others. And because everything we do is open to God’s appraisal, even though we don’t know what the future holds, we should remember that we are instructed to work “as to the Lord” (see Colossians 3:23-24) 

Father, what a privilege to watch [name] grow up, listen to his dreams, and pray for his future. Help him to commit himself to working hard even when he can’t see all the ways you are at work in him. Amen.