The Most 'Forceful' Relationship in YOUR Life....and Why it Matters!

The most forceful relationship you will have in your life is with your father. Don't get me wrong, you will have other relationships in your life that will influence you. Your relationship with your mother, wife, children, and closest friends will all mold and shape you. I chose the word forceful with carefulness because it connotes just how deeply God grafts and shapes us through our relationship with our father. Every person has to come to grips and is forced to reflect on how their father has impacted them during their life.

Did you know that the word "father" is mentioned more than 1,100 times in the Bible. God has created father's to play a prominent role in our lives. Yet, 1 out of 3 children live in fatherless homes. To see how this is impacting our world and the next generation this article from the Art of Manliness will shed more light.....Article: The influence fathers and fatherlessness has on children.

Regardless of whether you had a good father or a bad father. Whether your father was present or absent. Whether he had many strengths or many weaknesses. (By the way, every person has at least some weaknesses). Our relationship with our father shapes and molds us as people in very deep, pronounced, and forceful ways.

Here is why we are forced to think through our relationship with our father 

1) How we view our father deeply impacts how we view the Father! Your relationship with your dad will force you to think and surmise what your relationship with your Father is like. Why are many people so mad at God? Because they are mad at their father and parents. We can't get past the analogy that God is our Father. When we think of God as our father the next logical step is for us to think through our relationship with our earthly father.

2) A father's primary job deals with leadership. The greatest leadership lessons we will learn are from our fathers EVEN if we learn what not to do. God created fathers with the express purpose of teaching us leadership. 

3) A father's role is unique. You will only have one biological father. You might have multiple children. You might get divorced and remarried and have multiple spouses in your lifetime. Even if you have a stepfather when you say the word "Daddy" it generally refers to the person who you look to as father the most.

We as people are forced to think through the dynamics of our relationship with our father. If done in a healthy way it will lead to forgiveness and gratitude. If done the wrong way it can lead to bitterness, anger, and resentment. The choice is yours.