My son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also (II Timothy 2:1,2).
These words of exhortation from Paul to his young disciple, Timothy, are appropriate to study on Fathers Day, not only because Timothy was a spiritual son to Paul, his dearly beloved son in fact (II Timothy 1:2), but also because a godly father should be a spiritual father to his own children. Fathers . . . bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4).
Abraham was chosen to be the father of the chosen nation because, as God said: I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment (Genesis 18:19), thus establishing a godly heritage.
In our text, Paul exhorts Timothy to be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. He is urged to remember the gift of God, which is in thee (II Timothy 1:6), and not to be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord (1:8).
One proven way for a son to be strong in the faith is to encourage him to pass the truths on to others. Any teacher will testify that preparing to teach something solidifies the material in the teachers mind. Furthermore, the act of stating something publicly commits a person to a position from which it is hard to retreat. Fathers should encourage their sons and daughters to take such a stand. The children need it, and, furthermore, the world needs it!
Many, many Christian leaders today have come from strong Christian homes, where their discipleship took place. May God enable each father to teach his children to hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus (1:13). JDM