Household Spiritual Leaders
This coming Sunday, June 19, we will celebrate Father’s Day. I grew up in a home where the father in the house was a man who believed the Bible and expected all his family to do the same. Our only question was, “How do I better understand what God is saying?” We never questioned if it were true or correct. Today, as a pastor of over 20 years, I am very thankful for Dad’s humble look at the Word. His way of looking at the Bible has helped me want to know more about the Scripture and better understand its meaning for my life, the life of my family, and the life of this congregation.
One of the things that the Bible has taught me is that the husband is the spiritual head of his household. This does not give him special privileges but special responsibilities. It is the responsibility of the husband to love his wife. In Ephesians 5:25, Paul encourages men with: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her, to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies.”
It is the responsibility of the husband to give spiritual direction to his family and to interpret the will of God for his family. It is his responsibility to pray for his family and to lead them to the family altar. It is the father’s responsibility to lead his family to church and to set the example of service to the Heavenly Father. It is also his responsibility to love his family. You see, the responsibility of a godly husband is a full-time job.
Scripture has also taught me that being a husband and dad means to be a kind and gentle man who models the mercy, grace, and gentleness of Jesus Christ himself. It is shedding tears in sad times and celebrating in good times but always being the stalwart of hope, love, and faith in the God who sustains in all of life. A dad sets and demonstrates to his children what God is like by living out biblical principles before them.
So, you see, the spiritual leader of the household is not a privilege but a responsibility. I pray that husbands and dads in this Mt. Bethel community of faith will be disciples of Jesus and allow Him to live in them so that being like Jesus will just be a natural day-to-day lifestyle.
God bless all of you who have the deep privilege of being called dad and husband. May we all be blessed by God.
Jody