Plan Info
Of Fathers and SonsSample
Today’s analogy is: “A good father helps his son grow into a man.”
It was a warm summer day when I took my son biking up the hill for the first time. He was a great biker... on the flats. But his little legs were unaccustomed to long uphill pedals. Here’s how it went, from his perspective:
“This is too hard!”
“I’ll never make it up there!”
“I’m tipping… I’m falling!”
And here’s how it went from my perspective:
“He’s ready for this I know he’ll feel great when he makes it.”
“It’ll be a challenge for him, but I’ll be right here beside him.”
“Oops he’s a little unsteady; I’ll just give him a little push.”
“He’s doing great!”
As you can imagine, we made it safely to the top. For me, the outcome was never in doubt: I knew he was ready for it and I knew I’d help him all the way up. But as I was helping him up the hill, I suddenly laughed at myself when I realized how often I feel exactly like my son, struggling through some trial or challenge in my own life. Here’s what I learned:
- God knows what I need and what I’m capable of better than I do. He will never push me too hard: (1 Corinthians 10:13)
- God does sometimes push me out of my comfort zone; God is tolerant of my fears but not indulgent: (Exodus 3:7-14, 4:10-15)
- God loves me far more than I love my own son; he’s more sure to help me than I am to help my own son: (Luke 11:11-13)
As you consider these passages, remember that God loves you too much not to help you grow.
About this Plan
Are you a father? Want to know more about God, your heavenly Father? I’d love to share with you some recent lessons I learned from interacting with my young son. If you’re a dad yourself you’ll probably relate to these...
More
We would like to thank Scott Bouma for providing this plan. For more information, please visit: https://medium.com/@scott.bouma