Fatherhood: The Silent Strength

Fathers seem to get a lot of blame and not enough credit. A lot of responsibility is placed upon fathers when it comes to the health of a family. A father is the head of the family and responsible for their spiritual, physical, and emotional well-being. Oftentimes the breadwinner, the father is stressed financially and spiritually in times of making ends meet. When his soul and relationship with God are suffering, it can be hard for him to be the spiritual rock.

Joseph is the example Christian fathers have been given to follow. He, too, probably had doubts for he was imperfect. As the father of God and the husband of a wife without sin, he may have felt unworthy. But God asked him to take on the blessings and burdens of being Jesus's father and he obeyed. Taking action and being a protector are two very important qualities of fatherhood. Just being involved in a child's life can leave deep impressions.

Fathers are not always blood-related; they can be older male friends as well. Fathers are loving and caring, just as much as they are risk takers while relying on God. They show others the way to Christ through example and they are living proof of God's love for us. Men are the masculine form of God and they portray His love in their manliness.

Men no longer go out and hunt for food, but they do fight for their faith in a world that is against them. They may work to pay bills, build up a savings for emergencies, or just to feel like a man. But at the end of the day, a man works and fights for his family and their needs. He places his wife and children before himself, just as Joseph put Mary and Jesus before his reputation. Joseph let God guide him in his decision and said, “Yes,” just like Mary did. God asks us every day to say, “Yes.” Each day I see my husband off to work, he is answering God in his small way of providing for us. Fathers are men of action, and that action is supported with love.