Be Careful Who You Call Daddy!

I’ve been reading through the Bible this year and as much as you want to avoid it, eventually you come to Chronicles and Kings. There is a whole lot of history, a whole lot of detail, and long lists of family trees One thing becomes evident when you read about the Kings of Israel and Judah is the way the passage begins:

2 Chronicles 17:3 (KJV)
3And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, and sought not unto Baalim

2 Chronicles 34:2 (KJV)
2And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left.

These scriptures eluded to describing the good that these kings did, but there are also indications of Kings who did otherwise:

1 Kings 11:6 (KJV)
And Solomon did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father.

1 Kings 22:52(KJV)
And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin:

The above scriptures give descriptions of Kings who either followed the good of their fathers or the bad – but they refer to blood line or family lineage characteristics. In order words, they either acted on what they saw or what was passed down to them.

Today we live in an age where many fathers have gone AWOL! Far too many children are growing up without fathers in the home and although there is no doubt whether present in body or not – genetics has a large part to play in how we live out our lives. For believers we have an opportunity to be grafted into the lineage of the family of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob. Though none of these individuals were perfect – God Himself regarded this family lineage to be “His (called-out) people.” As the people of God we have opportunity to walk in the lineage of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

However, in the church world we also have the opportunity to receive “spiritual fathers” -(and mothers) – who can also help us in our journey through this life. Our natural fathers are not selected by us – our spiritual fathers are. What should we look for in a spiritual father? Since you have an opportunity to decide – what characteristics do you feel are essential – integrity, a strong moral stance, the ability to impart wisdom, one who has charisma, someone who walks in miracles? What kinds of things can you expect from a spiritual father – after all they are men, called-out by God, but they are also on a journey of being perfected each day.

These are not questions I am going to attempt to answer. I have had to ponder these questions for myself – and I reached some conclusions as to what was most important to me – and I took that to God when I searched for a church home. What I do want to say however is, just as we see in the pages of the books of Chronicles and Kings – more often than not – the new King walked in the ways of His Father – and in far too many instances, that is still true today!

Selah,
Maria