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Five "F's" of Fatherhood - Fruitful

As we move on through Psalm 128, we come to verse 2 which reads, "You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you."  The third F that I noticed in this passage was that a father should be Fruitful.

God's plan is for the man to be the provider for his home.  This plan goes all the way back to Genesis 3:19 which says, "By the sweat of your face you shall eat bread..."  God has promised to provide our needs, but not necessarily with no effort from us.  Excluding the 90 degree weather we've been having, you typically only sweat when you're working hard, so providing is not going to be easy, it takes hard work.  Knowing that you are to be the provider is a difficult burden to bear which is why God gave men a tough exterior.  One thing I've learned just in my couple years of fatherhood is how much better of a nurturer my wife is than I am, but that's the way God created us. Men are to be providers and women are much better natural nurturers. 

So men, let's say that we are doing a good job being fruitful and providing our children with clothes and toys, and that our wife has a nice car and house.  Is our job of providing done?  No.  We are to provide more than just these things, we are to provide emotional and spiritual security to our household.  Our families need to know that they can come to us with questions instead of seeking worldly answers.  They need to know that when they make a mistake that we will be there to support them through it.

So why should we provide for our families?  Because providing is required by God's Word in 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."  Even non-Christians want to provide nice things for their own families.  How much more so should we want to provide for our families needs?  I've read before that our family is the most important mission field that we will ever have, so while it is important that we provide for our family's physical needs, we also must remember to provide for their spiritual needs as well.

Being fruitful is hard work, but so worth it in the end to receive the Lord's blessings. 

Dear Heavenly Father,
Thank you for the duty you have given me to be fruitful.  Thank you for providing methods for me to provide for my family and others.  I pray that I will always glorify you in the work that I do.  Amen.

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