Pastor Bell's Words To Live By

The intention of a good father is to provide a favourable environment so that his children can thrive. The problem with the above statement is that fatherhood cannot be taught rather it can only be caught. We hear the Psalmist entreating the Lord to “teach me your way so that I may not sin against you” in Psalm 25:4, 27:11, 86:11 and still he did not get it totally right as a father. It is not easy being a father. The father wants the best possible outcome for the child, but the child wants all that the father has now! As a young man learning to be an obedient son, David who later became one of the best kings of Israel, wrote this “wait on the Lord, be of good courage and he shall strengthen your heart, wait I say on the Lord”, Psalm 27:14 it is during the waiting period that the son learns to become a good father and the daughter a good mother. There are no set formulae or class that one can attend to learn these traits. The basics are handed down from one generation to the next, however since each of us are individual we have certain characteristics that are specific to us. Some children will not learn until they have been through the mill. For others the penny will drop immediately and they will reap the goodness that has been laid up for them. A good father teaches his children by demonstration, so the hugs, the encouragement, the quality time spent just talking, creates the right notion in the child that passes on from one generation to another.  The most difficult thing to change in an individual is their mind. When this is stretched and expanded from a young age however, that person will become a good parent.  Today remember that good is relative and the only one who is truly ‘good’ is God. Read Psalm 27 to hear the father’s heart.