“Training”

Ephesians 6:4

“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

So how exactly does ‘training’ differ from ‘instruction’? 

Train – to prepare someone for something; to discipline or to drill; to make proficient by practice. 

Just as there is a rhythm to instruction there is a rhythm to training. It repeats over and over and over. There is a strength and security for the child that comes from consistent ongoing training. 

Proverbs 22:6

“Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it.”

All children require some of the same training and every child requires training that is specific to him or her. This is designed by God to happen primarily at home and thus this clear exhortation is to the father, the head of the home. 

Much of this training though happens in ‘community’:

‭- family

– extended family

– faith family

Much of this training happens when ‘together’:

– working together 

– playing together 

– praying together 

– reading together

– learning together 

– eating together

A family rhythm that includes intentional ongoing repetition executed in a loving committed community led by a faithful engaged father will help to train a child in the way he should go so that in the future he will not depart from it. 

Prayer. 

Dear God, give me grace this day to step into my role with your design in mind and protect me from the influence of the culture that marginalizes fatherhood. 

In Jesus Name, Amen.