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I Hiram do solemnly resolve before God to take full responsibility for myself, my wife and my children.
I WILL love them, protect them, serve them, and teach them the Word of God as the spiritual leader of my home.
I have been on a journey over the past few months, it has been one of enlightenment and of sorrow. It has been rewarding and it has been convicting, what it has not been is easy. When it comes to many aspects of our lives there is that tendency to settle into what others, society and eventually ourselves determine that it is good enough. I have been told I am a good father, a good friend and a good husband, that brought up the question in my life; Do I want to be good enough, or do I want to be all that I can be? When is good enough good enough? What does God expect of me and is He happy with good enough? Do my spouse, children and friends deserve better than good enough? These are some hard question and I am still on a journey to answer them in full, however I thought I might share what I have discovered so far.
There is an saying "The buck stops here" when it comes to leadership this is or at least should be true. When I was in the military the leaders we respected were those that lead by example. They trained harder, studied harder and were the first there and the last to leave. When things went wrong they were the ones to step up as the leader and take full responsibility for their actions. They were people we looked up to an strived to emulate. As the spiritual leader of my house that is what I am called to do. I am called to leader by example. Scripture says in 1 Timothy 3:4 of a father he is to be "one who rules his own house well, having his children in submission with all reverence." Ephesians 5:23 says of a husband For the husband is the head of the wife, as also Christ is the head of the church" My first thoughts when I read this was to question the word "rules" what does that really mean? If you take time and look at the Greek the word it refers to a present character that will provide the needed role model to direct others by positive actions having a positive impact. The next word that caught my attention is "submission" in today's world that has so many negative feelings attached to it. When in context here it means to obey and watch, to learn. I am to lead by example, if I am to be effective as the spiritual leader of my house I am to be the example that my family and my friends can follow.
That example I am to emulate to them is Jesus Christ. As the head of the church Christ lead by example, He set the standard that I should strive to reach. He protected His people when He rebuked the storm on the sea. He was always diligent in teaching them the Word of God by word in His parables and sermons. He lead them in His way by being a living example. Perhaps most important He served them even unto death. His last night with His disciples He put on the towel of a servant and washing their feet. When I came to that clear and precise realization of how far I had fallen short I felt fear. How can I live up to that example? Then I felt remorse with the realization that time after time I had failed at this because I had settled to be good enough. My heart ached because it rang true "The buck stops here". I am called to protect my family, to teach them the Word of God, lead them in His ways, and serve them with all my heart and sole. I needed to fix this and so the journey began to become the husband, father and friend God expects me to be.
