Like mothers, the Bible holds up fathers as an example for everyone of how we should act toward those we care about. The Apostle Paul did this in how he planted the new church in Thessalonika.
As we think about fathers and how they reflect God the Father’s heart, we can see three aspects that, if we apply them to our own relationships, we will better reflect God’s care for others.
How to be a fatherly model to those around us
By freely giving ourselves and the gospel
By being upright in our character
By urging others to live lives worth of our calling
Even if we have had difficult relationships with our own fathers, we can still learn in two ways.
First, we know what we should not do. Israel was often not a good model of God’s people but in 1 Corinthians 10, Paul says their bad conduct is a warning for us. Also, we are humbled as we could fall too but God provides strength to overcome temptations.
Second, God gives us others to be a right role model of fathers.
“God Himself is our ultimate Father.”
He also gives others, men and women, who can be our spiritual fathers. In this way we can relearn what it is to have a godly father.
By freely giving ourselves and the gospel
Surely you remember, brothers and sisters, our toil and hardship; we worked night and day in order not to be a burden to anyone while we preached the gospel of God to you (1 Thessalonians 2:9).
These two areas are related and depend on each other.
Paul goes to great lengths in chapters 1 and 2 to expound on how he and his team conducted themselves among the new believers. Why?
They could see, not only that God’s word is powerful, but how it powerfully works in His people. Paul's conduct authenticated the message.
In addition, these new believers had good role models to follow in their new faith.
Paul and his companions sacrificed themselves as fathers must do always for their families. Fathers are at their best in giving their lives for their families and at their worst in being selfish instead.
But fathers can only give what they have. We must receive the strength and grace from God’s good news of His love and acceptance in the sacrifice in His Son, Jesus Christ, if we are to give it to others. He is the true and living God and we can only be true and really alive in Him.
“The best way to be a good father is to live closely with the Lord.”
We will then model the sacrificial nature of our Heavenly Father. We must live in the gospel if we are to live it out with those we look after.
By being upright in our character
You are witnesses, and so is God, of how holy, righteous and blameless we were among you who believed (1 Thessalonians 2:10).
By urging others to live lives worth of our calling
11 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, 12 encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory (1 Thessalonians 2:11-12).
So, we can each imitate a fathers heart in our relationships with others. May our God so enable us to do so out of His love and perfect fatherly heart toward us through His Son.
