4 Steps to Being a Great Dad

FROM JIM’S HEART—If you are a dad, you are part of an exciting exclusive club. However you came to be your children’s dad and whatever the circumstances, you are their dad. Being a father is one of the greatest privileges God extends to you.

To encourage you along this process, here are several things you can do to become a dad after God’s own heart.

Small Steps That Make a Big Difference

1. Love your wife. The most important step you can take as a dad is to love your wife. This may not be your easiest step. But it will be the one that goes the furthest in modeling God the Father’s love for His children. 

2. Affirm in your heart that you are in the faith—that you are in Christ. If you are, you have access to all the help you will ever need to be God’s kind of dad.

3. Make sure you are growing spiritually. God wants you to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Because spiritual growth is a command, that means you have a choice. If you want to be a dad after God’s own heart, you will want to choose to grow spiritually. So carve out some time each day to spend with your heavenly Father.

4. Don’t make excuses for not reading your Bible. Getting into God’s Word is an obvious step for all things spiritual—including being a dad. I’ve heard a lot of men say, “I have to be at work really early.” Or “I don’t understand the Bible.” Or “I don’t know where to start.” Yet if something is truly important to you, you’ll find a way to fit it into your busy schedule, and you’ll take time to learn how to do it. Not only does a Christian man, husband, and father need to spend time with God daily, but he should want to.

The role of being a father bears the greatest of responsibilities. Your children are yours to influence for good or evil. Your example will mark them for life. Take time to get down on your knees and ask God to give you His wisdom to do whatever is necessary to be a dad after God’s own heart. And even better is to do this every day.

RESPOND

God, I commit my parenting to You today. Help me to honor You in all I do. Thank You for guiding me so that my decisions will glorify You and bless my children. Amen.

RENEWING RESOURCES 

A Dad After God’s Own Heartby Jim George—in this fresh rerelease, learn the basics for how to be a good dad with your kids, including...

• letting your kids know you love and care for them
• learning the keys to positive and effective communication
• knowing the qualities kids need most in a dad

Art Prints—Check out these art prints, designed to encourage you to be a dad after God’s own heart!

REFLECT

Choose one of the four steps and implement that step this week. Next week, choose a second to do, and so forth and so on.

REMEMBER
Your example as a father will mark your children for life.