Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.
Deuteronomy 6:4-9
In our consideration of covenantal fatherhood, we have reflected on how 1) earthly fatherhood was designed to teach us of our relationship to the heavenly Father, 2) earthly fathers must take God’s Word to heart and live it if they are to effectively teach it to their children, 3) God’s commands are given to us for our own good and, 4) the Word of God is to shape our thoughts and govern our activities in this world.
The upshot of Moses’ instruction to fathers in the passage above is, “lessons taught by lessons lived.” This series of posts began with reflecting on the biblical lessons about my heavenly Father that were communicated to me through the life of my earthly father. These were essential truths that were “lessons lived” as much as “lessons taught.” Instruction by example through godly living is a pervasive principle in Scripture.
Godly examples are not perfect examples. There was only one perfect example, the God-Man Christ Jesus. This is why Scripture admonishes us to not rely on man (Psalm 118:8-9) but trust in the Lord. This is clearly set forth in Jeremiah 17:5: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who draws strength from mere flesh and whose heart turns away from the Lord.” As the prophet learned, even those considered wise can disappoint us (Jeremiah 8:9). We must realize that godly men sometimes falter and fail. Therefore, as Scripture repeatedly admonishes us, first and foremost, our trust must be in the Lord. We must guard against idolizing any human being for we are flawed and frail. Not only has God fashioned us from dust (Psalm 103:14), we are born into the world corrupted by sin (Ephesians 2:1-3; Psalm 51:5). Even after we come to Christ, sin still dwells in our members (Romans 7:23). We are presently engaged in an inner struggle (Galatians 5:17) that will continue until we see our Savior and our transformation is made complete (1 John 3:2). Nonetheless, Scripture encourages us to live in such a way that others might follow our example. Though offenses must inevitably come, woe to him by whom they come (Luke 17:1).
The Apostle Paul is a good case in point. He lived a life worthy of imitation (Philippians 4:9). However, by his own admission, those patterning their lives by his example were to look beyond him to Christ whom he himself was following (1 Corinthians 11:1). If he were to stop following Christ (evidenced by proclaiming a false Gospel), he himself was to be accursed (Galatians 1:8). The only lives worthy of emulating are those seeking fidelity to God’s Word and striving to follow Christ’s example of humility and love (Philippians 2:5; Ephesians 5:1-2). We must recognize that sanctification is a process and communicate this truth to those who are watching our lives. Paul himself made it clear that he was not yet perfect (Philippians 3:12). In fact, toward the end of his earthly journey, he boldly referred to himself as the worst of sinners (1 Tim 1:15).
It follows that no earthly father is perfect; indeed, far from it. And yet, he is commanded to take God’s Word to heart that he might teach it to his children, providing his offspring with a godly example to follow. How should a father understand his responsibility in light of these two contrasting biblical truths? He must make it clear to his children that he is himself in this process of sanctification. Failures and stumbles are no excuse for abdicating his responsibility to lead his children in paths of righteousness. Therefore, when he sins, he must provide his children with an example of what God expects when His children sin. He sets a righteous example by repenting before God (1 John 1:9-10) and those he has offended (James 5:16). By such an example, his children will learn what they must do when they sin, for sin they will!
In our next post, I will begin sharing some of the lessons I learned from lessons lived before me as my earthly father sought to follow Christ.
