Spiritual Dads

Aug 10, 2007

1Co 4:15 AUV-NT
(15) For although you have ten thousand guardians [Note: This word means someone who transported a child to his teacher] in [the fellowship of] Christ, you do not have many [spiritual] fathers. For I [spiritually] conceived you people through [preaching to you] the good news [about Christ]. [Note: Paul here refers to his work in establishing the church at Corinth].

I have been reading through the Bible in one year with my youngest children. When I read this verse to them the other day it bothered me. When I accepted Jesus as my savior I did it on my own. Yes people had talked to me about Jesus, but in the end it was a sermon on TV that did not tell me what I needed to know to accept Jesus and a Gideon Bible that did. So I, according to Paul, did not have a spiritual father, one who led me to the Lord. It took a few days of meditating on this to think about what he meant.

Jesus believed in discipling people, as did Paul. In fact Paul stayed with people when he moved into an area and helped them to become better Christians. In that way he 'fathered' them. That is what bothered me about this scripture. I had never been discipled by anyone. I had read books about discipleship and had taught myself much about the scriptures. But I never had one person that mentored me in all the years that I was a Christian.

Now, it is possible to disciple oneself. It is also possible to remove a thorn stuck in your back with out a mirror. Both things are similar. You will attempt it a lot, but you can not see what is wrong so you can not remove it. Just like having someone remove the thorn for you makes it easier, so does having someone who has been a Christian and understands the Word well teach you and help remove the thorns from your spiritual backside.

For years I was an angry man. When I met a good Christian man a few years ago, he took me under his wing and showed me that the image I had of my father was not the image I should have of my heavenly Father. He showed me that it was OK to be angry, but to handle it the right way, something that helped the other night when a family member got very upset with me. We read the word together and he pointed out things to me. When I have problems I still turn to him to unload and for advice.

If you have not had someone like that in your life, find someone, it makes all the difference in the world.

Thanks to my 'spiritual father'


===Translation Information
The New Testament: An Understandable Version, © 1994 by William E. Paul,
Impact Publications,
Post Office Box 30526
Seattle, Washington 98103
http://ncbible.org/AUV/Contents.htm