A New Father’s Seven Resolutions

Yesterday was my first Father’s Day. In my sermon, I made seven resolutions.

1. Resolved, that I as a child of God will be an imitator of our heavenly Father as he exemplifies true fatherhood.
2. Resolved, that I will be a follower of Jesus in the way he lived his life, suffered and died for his church.
3. Resolved, that I will be filled with the Holy Spirit moment-by-moment, letting my life be under his direction and control.
4. Resolved, that I will take the God-given responsibility as the leader of our family, taking primary responsibility in providing for and protecting them – both physically and spiritually.
5. Resolved, that I will be my wife’s lover, loving her with all my being and reflecting the sacrificial love of Christ.
6. Resolved, that I will be our children’s primary authority, in order that they may experience the blessings of obedience to God as they obey us.
7. Resolved, that I will be our children’s primary teacher, raising them “in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

Pray for God’s grace to strengthen me to keep these resolutions for his glory and for the good of our family. If you are a father, will you join me in making the same resolutions? Will you pray for your husband or father that God will work in their hearts, transforming them to be the kind of fathers that God wants them to be?