Marriage Makes A Home: Divine Counsel For Fathers (And Children): An Exposition of Ephesians 6:1-4 -- By: David J. MacLeod

Journal: Emmaus Journal
Volume: EMJ 19:1 (Winter 2010)
Article: Marriage Makes A Home: Divine Counsel For Fathers (And Children): An Exposition of Ephesians 6:1-4
Author: David J. MacLeod


Marriage Makes A Home: Divine Counsel For Fathers (And Children): An Exposition of Ephesians 6:1-41

David J. MacLeod

Dave MacLeod is Dean for Biblical Studies at Emmaus Bible College and is Associate Editor of The Emmaus Journal.

Several years ago the first lady of television comedy, Lucille Ball (1911-89), died. Some time before her death she did a remarkable television interview with Merv Griffin, who asked her a very pointed and serious question. “Lucille, you’ve lived a long time on this earth and you are a wise person. What’s happened to our country? What’s wrong with our children? Why are our families falling apart? What’s missing?” Lucy’s startling yet very matter-of-fact reply came quickly. “Papa’s missing,” she said. “Things are falling apart because Papa’s gone. If Papa were here, he would fix it.”2 Lucille Ball was far better known for her comedy performances in “I Love Lucy” than for her social insights; but she was right. Many of the family problems that beset American culture have, at their root, dysfunctional fathers of one sort or another.

Marriage and the family were, as the early chapters of Genesis make clear, created by God. Throughout all civilizations and cultures the family has been the basic building block of the nation. And it was God’s intent that the family be nourished and protected through fatherhood.

But what is fatherhood? It does involve the biological begetting of babies. However, there is more to true paternity than the mere breeding of the young. One writer defines the essence of fatherhood this way: “The notion of responsibility is at the crux of true fatherhood. The conscious sense of responsibility for the physical and spiritual well-being of others is the mark of a true father.”3

Is this important? It is. You and I are living at a time in which the world is witnessing an alarming breakdown in the matter of discipline. Lawlessness is rampant, and things that were once taken for granted, e.g., marriage and a home with two biological parents—one male and one female—are being ridiculed and dismissed. Western civilization is in a moral and ethical free fall, and even secular writers know that something is terribly wrong.4

And the most destructive trend of our time, many authorities believe, is the absence of fathers.5 One group of writers has said, “Dad is destiny. More than virtually a...

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