Recently I wrote a paper for my personality research class that mentioned an incident in which I was verbally bullied by three girls in the third grade. Working on this project allowed me time to reflect on this incident as well as an act of courageous manhood exhibited by my father in the midst of this.
After being teased/bullied by these girls for a while, my dad paid a visit to the fathers of two of the girls during dinner time to talk with them about how their daughters were treating me.
My father intervened on my behalf. He took action to protect me from the verbal abuse of these girls. In doing so, he demonstrated his great love for me as well as his commitment to his God-given responsibilities as a father and man. Looking back on this incident, I feel so loved in knowing that my father was willing to step up on my behalf.
My earthly father's actions in this situation provide a glimpse into something even greater that my heavenly father, God, has done for me and you. Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." God intervened on our behalf to save us from the punishment we deserve for our sin against him. Because of his great love for us, he has made salvation available to all those who will believe on him (Acts 16:31). I am thankful for God's great love for me and the action he has taken on my behalf.
In addition, I am thankful for my father and proud of the godly and courageous man that he is. As I pray and wait expectantly for God to provide me with a husband, I am glad that I have been allowed the opportunity to observe my father in this role. My father has demonstrated to me that he believes me to be worthy of love and respect. I will marry a man who demonstrates the same love and respect for the person I am.
_______________________________________________________________
For more information and encouragement with regard to this topic, check out a new book related to this topic of courageous manhood called
Stepping Up: A Call to Courageous Manhood. This book was written by Dennis Rainey of FamilyLife Today to challenge men to rise to the role to which God has called them.
No comments:
Post a Comment