1 Peter 3:7 (NKJV) Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honour to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
The best gift a father can give to his children is a strong marriage with his wife. It is the father’s responsibility to create a safe environment in the home. The home should be a haven for the family. This is so vital for the children that we must guard it jealously for their sake. Because we live in a vicious world, the father should ensure that this haven is always available to the children, even when they are married—a place where they are loved, accepted, and valued.
The scene that provides young children with the greatest psychological and emotional stability is witnessing their parents hugging and loving each other. They feel safe and experience peace in their minds and hearts. Once this haven is shaken or destroyed, the children will be thrown into a state of unrest, affecting them psychologically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and to some extent physically.
Matthew 6:9 (NKJV) In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, Hallowed be Your name.
It is challenging to effectively, openly, and intimately relate to the Heavenly Father unless we have a close relationship with our earthly fathers. Jesus taught us to pray to the Heavenly Father in His name, so as fathers, if we want to model our fatherhood after Him, we need to have a clear understanding of God, the Heavenly Father.
God is a judge, but if we only see God as a judge, it would be hard to grow up in the courtroom under the watchful eye of a judge. Some believers even think that God uses sicknesses, accidents, pain, and suffering to discipline us because we have failed Him due to our imperfection and sin. Instead, we must take responsibility because many of us are only attentive to God when we come to the end of ourselves, becoming receptive to God’s ways, correction, instructions, and rebuke when we are helpless during a crisis.
If we believe that God uses all these to discipline us, we risk becoming abusive fathers, pushing our children away from us and risking committing the offence of child abuse. The truth is, God uses His word to correct, train, rebuke, and lead us in righteousness. We often hear God more clearly through life’s unpleasant events.
God has made the throne of grace accessible to us, where we find help and mercy in times of need from the Heavenly Father. God wants us to address Him as our Father in heaven. The ability to address God as our Heavenly Father is a great blessing because it will draw us closer to Him. God the Father always wants us to approach Him to find rest, help, mercy, grace, strength, and the removal of our burdens. He is a loving and caring Heavenly Father!
Likewise, we should always make ourselves available to the children. It is a way to show them through our actions that they matter more to us than anything else, and we are a loving and approachable father.
Sermon Series: Dads for Life
效法天父的样式
彼得前书 3:7 你们做丈夫的，也要按情理和妻子同住，因她比你软弱，与你一同承受生命之恩的，所以要敬重她。这样，便叫你们的祷告没有阻碍。
父亲能给予孩子们的最好礼物，就是与妻子建立稳固的婚姻。父亲有责任在家中营造安全的环境。家庭应当成为全家人的避风港。这对于孩子们来说至关重要，因此我们必须为他们的缘故，竭力守护这一环境。由于我们生活在充满挑战的世界里，父亲应确保这个避风港始终对孩子们开放，即使当他/她们结婚之后，这仍是一个充满爱、被接纳并受到尊重的地方。
对于年幼的孩子来说，能够看到父母彼此拥抱、相爱，是给予他们心理与情感上最大稳定感的画面。他们会感到安全，内心获得平安。一旦这个避风港受到动摇或破坏，孩子们将陷入不安的状态，这会在心理、思维、情感、灵性，甚至在某种程度上影响到身体健康。
马太福音 6:9 所以，你们祷告要这样说：‘我们在天上的父，愿人都尊你的名为圣，
要想有效、坦诚且亲密地与天父建立关系，我们必须先清楚认识神——天父。耶稣教导我们要奉祂的名向天父祷告，因此，作为父亲，如果希望效法祂的榜样，就需要先在自己的生命中与神——天父建立亲密的关系。
神是审判者，但如果我们只把神看作审判者，就很难在祂如同法庭般的注视下成长。有些信徒甚至认为，神通过疾病、意外、痛苦和苦难来惩戒我们，因为我们的不完美和罪使祂失望。然而，我们必须承担起责任，因为我们中的许多人，往往只有在走到生命的尽头、无助于危机时，才会敞开心接受神的方式、管教、教导和责备。
如果我们认为神用这一切来惩戒我们，就有可能成为苛责的父亲，将孩子推开，甚至冒着伤害孩子的风险。事实上，神通过祂的话语来纠正、训练、责备，并引导我们行在公义中。我们常常在生活中不如意的经历中，更清楚地听见神的声音。
神为我们预备了恩典的宝座，使我们在需要时可以从天父那里得到帮助和怜悯。神希望我们称祂为天上的父亲。能够以“天父”称呼神，是极大的祝福，因为这会让我们更亲近祂。天父总是希望我们亲近祂，在祂里面得安息、获帮助、蒙怜悯、享恩典、得力量、卸重担。祂是慈爱、关怀我们的天父！
同样地，我们也应时常为孩子们预留时间和空间。通过我们的行动，让他们感受到自己在我们心中比任何事情都重要，也让他们明白我们是慈爱、可亲近的父亲。
讲章系列: 为父之道
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