Isn’t it amazing that a drop of saliva can identify the culture “soil” from which we sprout–European, African, Asian, Middle Eastern…? Our family fathers were stone masons, preachers, lawyers, engineers, and outlaws! Like old journals, their values gather dust until we face life-altering choices. Then it matters what kinds of fathers we have as a heritage. Their beliefs, habits, and prejudices affect how we relate to people and the kind of men we have become.

How will they grow?

What will future fathers say about us?

If we could fast forward to the next generation what would we see? Don’t gawk at the flying cars. Forget about the weird fashions. Get to know the fathers that came from YOUR loins.

Are these dads serving God? Did they choose wives who love Jesus? Do they read the Bible to know how to live?

If we could talk to “our” line of fathers what would they say they believe? Would we hear distant echoes of our advice? Would our mistakes have crept through generations to touch great-grandsons?

WE ARE THEIR ROOTS.

We supply nutrients (values) to build mind-healthy sons. Within the mystery of God’s sovereignty, our decisions today impact future generations. We are reaping what our dads sowed. Our dads of the future will reap what we sow.

How we entertain ourselves, which schools we endorse and entrust our sons to, and what kind of friends we allow our boys to hang with, show our sons how to raise their sons.

There is no neutral ground for us fathers. No waffling. No escape (lol). Our view on abortion, same-sex marriage, courtesy, courage, husband responsibilities, how to handle conflict, and above all, how to cherish and maintain a relationship with Jesus Christ must be loved and hammered into their psyches until we breathe our last.

If we don’t impact them with what we believe, someone else will steal the opportunity and ruin them for life–and perhaps eternity.

Dad’s don’t do everything right, but we bear the responsibility of doing our level best to raise sons and daughters who–when they rummage through their heritage–can pull out the moral compass that great grandpa left them for guidance.