{"id":8913,"date":"2026-06-05T15:56:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:56:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/?p=8913"},"modified":"2026-06-05T15:56:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-05T19:56:49","slug":"earthly-fathers-imitating-our-heavenly-father","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/earthly-fathers-imitating-our-heavenly-father\/","title":{"rendered":"Earthly Fathers Imitating Our Heavenly Father"},"content":{"rendered":"

It is a wonderful blessing and privilege to be a father. One of the most amazing things about being a\u00a0father\u00a0is knowing what sort of influence you have on those around you,\u00a0especially your children. Children\u00a0observe\u00a0and learn from their fathers. They want to follow their\u00a0dad, wear his boots, try on his hat, and they often play in a way that matches what they see their father doing.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In\u00a0a similar way,\u00a0fathers are to do the very same thing when they look at their heavenly father. Notice the parallels in Ephesians 5:<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ephesians 5:1\u20132<\/span><\/b>\u00a0–<\/span>1<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children;\u00a0<\/span><\/i>2<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span><\/i>and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an\u00a0offering\u00a0and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.<\/span><\/i>\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We are to imitate God as His Children. If you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior, you have been adopted into God\u2019s forever family and He is your father, and you are to view yourself as loved, and as His child. And as His child,\u00a0we are to imitate Him.\u00a0We are to follow Him and do as He\u00a0does, value what He values,\u00a0and\u00a0prioritize what He prioritizes.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Children are to imitate their good father.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The text goes on in more specificity and says,\u00a0\u2018walk in love\u2019.\u00a0And then just to make it even more clear, the text points to Christ as the example of what it looks like to walk in love.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In love,\u00a0Jesus gave\u00a0Himself for us. He sacrificed\u00a0His desires and sacrificed Himself for us\u00a0so we could be adopted.\u00a0And it was not\u00a0simply\u00a0for us. It was not simply a horizontal situation;\u00a0it was an offering to God the Father. It was a fragrant aroma with vertical focus.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When an earthly father imitates\u00a0his heavenly father, that is a fragrant aroma. Our earthly children get a\u00a0picture\u00a0of what our heavenly father is like. When an earthy father gives himself up\u00a0and\u00a0gives his time, energy,\u00a0and focus to his kids in a Christ centered way\u00a0it can have\u00a0a\u00a0powerful\u00a0impact.\u00a0When a\u00a0father\u00a0denies\u00a0himself:\u00a0denying his hobbies, denying making sure he looks good at all costs,\u00a0and\u00a0denying his comfort,\u00a0it points powerfully to Christ.\u00a0When\u00a0a father\u00a0proactively\u00a0puts the spiritual and physical well-being of others, particularly his wife and children\u00a0above his own desires,\u00a0he points to the sacrifice of Christ\u00a0and\u00a0he walks in love.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to simply be a\u00a0father’s\u00a0duty, but this is an act of worship.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When a father does this as an act of worship,\u00a0it is\u00a0an offering. He views it not as a burden, but as something sweet and fragrant, something beautiful to be a part of, something special and something he is thankful to offer to the Lord.\u00a0Our view of the Lord impacts how we view the offering\u00a0we present to Him.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We must pray and help each other not see fatherhood as a burden, but as an act of worship where we get to show our kids what God is like and how we want to honor Him above everything else.\u00a0We\u00a0need\u00a0community\u00a0to remind\u00a0us\u00a0of our purpose\u00a0individually and as\u00a0fathers.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Genesis\u00a01:26-28\u00a0indicates\u00a0that our purpose as humans is to bear God\u2019s image\u00a0and\u00a0to mimic and display\u00a0His value system\u00a0and\u00a0rule in a way where we\u00a0represent\u00a0Him.\u00a0We\u00a0were not able to\u00a0do that on our\u00a0own\u00a0and we\u00a0sinned and rebelled against our purpose.\u00a0And so,\u00a0we needed\u00a0a savior, someone\u00a0to do it in our place, and take\u00a0the\u00a0punishment for our sin.\u00a0In Christ,\u00a0we can be forgiven and adopted\u00a0such that we are able to fulfill our purpose in all our relationships,\u00a0including fatherhood.\u00a0So that now\u00a0we not\u00a0only are\u00a0able\u00a0to bear His image, but in Christ we are His children and we are able to walk in love and\u00a0imitate\u00a0God\u00a0in a loving and secure relationship.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

I\u00a0pray\u00a0that\u00a0on\u00a0Father’s Day\u00a0we see the high calling and the high honor it is to be a dad. May we recognize how our kids imitate us and may they follow us as we follow Christ.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We want to celebrate Christ centered fathers, and so\u00a0I hope you will join us for Father\u2019s\u00a0Day\u00a0at Faith Church as we\u00a0study\u00a0the\u00a0goodness of God from Psalm 145.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We will also have some fun things for dads,\u00a0and we hope this is a time of encouragement and celebration of\u00a0fathers. We\u00a0will be giving out some work gloves and sharpies to encourage dads to do a fun activity with their kids.\u00a0Draw\u00a0something\u00a0fun on your work\u00a0gloves\u00a0with your kids.\u00a0This\u00a0reminds\u00a0us that our kids are\u00a0watching\u00a0us, so\u00a0decorate some work gloves with\u00a0your\u00a0child\u2019s favorite animal, insect,\u00a0or something else\u00a0that reminds\u00a0you\u00a0of\u00a0your kids. And as we wear those work gloves, we are reminded\u00a0that the way we live, work,\u00a0and worship\u00a0can point our kids to the goodness of our heavenly father.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

May we imitate the Lord and may our kids do the\u00a0same.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It is a wonderful blessing and privilege to be a father. One of the most amazing things about being a\u00a0father\u00a0is knowing what sort of influence you have on those around you,\u00a0especially your children. Children\u00a0observe\u00a0and learn from their fathers. They want to follow their\u00a0dad, wear his boots, try on his hat, and they often play in… read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":156,"featured_media":8917,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\nEarthly Fathers Imitating Our Heavenly Father - Faith Church Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blogs.faithlafayette.org\/church\/earthly-fathers-imitating-our-heavenly-father\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Earthly Fathers Imitating Our Heavenly Father - Faith Church Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"It is a wonderful blessing and privilege to be a father. 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