CREATED TO BE A SON, TRAINED TO BE A FATHER
One thing I always craved but never really had was a spiritual father. I always felt that I missed out on so much due to simply not having a mentor willing to build me up and spur me on spiritually. Someone who was able to see the calling on my life, smooth out my rough edges, walk with me through trials and launch me into my destiny.
It may be why I have always been such a HUGE fan of the movie “The Karate Kid”. A well seasoned, uniquely experienced man takes a lonely, awkward and out of place teenager under his wing and shows him how to walk out his journey with hard work and integrity. It’s something I just never had. Especially when it came to walking in my spiritual gifts and better understanding the Kingdom of God.
As deficient as I may have felt over the years, I’ve come to find out that I’m not alone in this idea of lack in regards to spiritual mentorship. Unfortunately, there is a whole generation of spiritual leaders that have risen to a place of influence despite not really having much of a fatherly voice in their lives. The tendency is to sit around and complain that the previous generation didn’t do a very good job. And while that very well may be true (I actually do believe it to be the case…sort of) I believe the time has come for us to change our approach to the problem.
If we truly are a part of a generation that lacked mentorship and spiritual fathers, do we believe that God desires for that trend to continue. NO WAY! He is so passionate about the Kingdom process of spiritual growth and He hasn’t given up on His plan for true discipleship. If I truly believe that, then I have to believe that He desires for me to lead the next generation. And I can continue to mope around feeling sorry for myself as though I missed an opportunity to be loved and nurtured and discipled, or I can become what I was created for in the beginning. That is to be a son.
God is my father. He wants to teach me and train me and love me and disciple me. So I haven’t been in lack. I haven’t missed out. I’ve just wanted to rely on another human and their experience more than I have on my Heavenly Father. Now, I’m not saying that there isn’t a need for real spiritual fathers. I’m just saying that if I, or you, don’t have one, we need to see that we actually do. His name is Holy Spirit. He’s our guide. He’s our counselor. And He wants to mold us and shape us more into the likeness of Jesus every moment of every day.
So, I’m still called to be a father to the next generation. But that’s not something I make myself into. I’m born, and wake up every day, a son first. I learn how to be a son. I learn from the best dad in the world how to be a son. He teaches me how to be a father. But, first things first. I have a father and I need to be a son.
