From a father who often fails

It's been 2 years since I became a father. I love my son, and he loves me. As parents, we've moved from admiring how still he was being only a few months old and getting excited at his movements to now not being able to keep track of his movements and wishing he would just sit still at times. There was a time when I used to wait for him to call me 'Appa'(father), and now he does that multiple times in just a few seconds to communicate something he thinks is important while I'm doing something I think is important. I don't always lovingly respond to those calls nowadays. And yes, there are times when I expect the maturity of an adult from this human being who barely knows how to brush his own teeth.

The point is that I am a terrible father. I fail multiple times, every day in my God-given task of being a loving father to my son. Yes, fatherhood (and motherhood) isn't easy as I thought. Things not in place (both in my life and my living room) can easily get to people like me. And being patient and loving enough to mentor, correct and train another human being who inherited my own flawed character traits, in the midst of that mess is something beyond my own capacity. But thank God fathers like us are not called by God to display ourselves as perfect people who make no mistakes. The calling is to point our children, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to God, who is the Perfect Father.

The calling is to point our children, by the power of the Holy Spirit, to God who is the Perfect Father.

A Good Father

Having understood the hardship of being a good father, has made me appreciate my own father's role in my life. I remember how he sacrificed a lot and worked hard to make sure my family was provided for. I remember him trying to make sure that we fine even when things were not alright. My father's assurance in the midst of troubling times was something I needed to hear, as there were a lot of rough times then. By the grace of God, he was able to show us a model of being a loving and sacrificial father. And even with his flaws, he was able to point us to God.

Even when we are bad fathers, He is still a Good Father to us.

And I often think, of how loving God must be, to be a better Father than my dad(or any dad on earth). He makes up for the failures of weak fathers like us. Even people who never had the privilege of experiencing the love of an earthly father can enjoy the love of God. And this love from our Heavenly Father is what we must experience on a daily basis, so that we could show them this love. When we fail, burst out in anger, behave selfishly, complain about demands of parenthood, let us remember that God still loves us. Even when we are bad fathers, He is still a Good Father to us. He wants us to look to Him and realise that we are not asked to give our children something we haven't already received from Him.

He wants us to look to Him, and realise that we are not asked to give our children something we haven't already received from Him.

When you fail, remember that He forgives.(1 John 1:9) When you lack strength, remember that His strength is made perfect in weakness.(2 Cor 12:9) When you feel you've been asked too much, remember that He gave His all. It's amazing that God in His Grace chose people like us to be His role models to our children, and He Himself will help us fulfil this calling. Oh! What a good, good Father!

"The father of a righteous child has great joy; a man who fathers a wise son rejoices in him." (Proverbs 23:24)