Dad Are You A Builder

Dad Are You a Builder

Hebrews. 3:4

“For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”

All people are builders in some form or another. And probably the greatest building we do is in regard to people. We’re all building people, because we all influence people and hopefully, for God and for good in life.
A Poem: A Builder Or a Wrecker

As I watched them tear a building down 
A gang of men in a busy town 
With a ho-heave-ho, and a lusty yell 
They swung a beam and the side wall fell

I asked the foreman, "Are these men skilled, 
And the men you'd hire if you wanted to build?" 
He gave a laugh and said, "No, indeed, 
Just common labor is all I need."

"I can easily wreck in a day or two, 
What builders have taken years to do." 
And I thought to myself, as I went my way 
Which of these roles have I tried to play?

Am I a builder who works with care, 
Measuring life by rule and square? 
Am I shaping my work to a well-made plan 
Patiently doing the best I can?

Or am I a wrecker who walks to town 
Content with the labor of tearing down? 
"O Lord let my life and my labors be 
That which will build for eternity!"

 

What Kind of builder are you? 

I have learned a lot from many pastors and teachers in my life. Rev. Paul Ellison taught and mentored me for many years. Then Pastors Rick Warren, Max Lucado and others taught me a lot from their books and preaching.
Brothers and sisters, those men are builder of both men and women! They taught me more about living the Christian life than just studying the Bible. I thank God for all the building they have done in life.
WHAT ABOUT YOU? Do you realize that you, too, are a builder of people? It might be your children, your grandchildren but it might also be someone else’s children and others adults and young people. YOU ARE A BUILDER!

Of course, I think we all realize that God is the greatest builder of all….He builds people in ways we never could!
Heb. 3:4 “For every house is built by someone, but God is the builder of everything.”
God is the builder of everything that is good and holy and right. And God is in the business building of good fathers as well.

For Father’s Day I would like to share a few thoughts about building a father. If I could build a father.

 

I. BUILDING A PATIENT FATHER
Illustration: There is a story about a father who became disturbed about the length of time his six-year-old son was taking to get home from school. 
The father decided he would make the trip to discover for himself how long it should take a small boy to cover the distance.
The father settled on 20 minutes but his son was still taking an hour. Finally the father decided to make the trip with his son. 
After the trip, the father said, "The 20 minutes I thought reasonable was right, but I failed to consider such important things as a side trip to track down a trail of ants...or an educational stop to watch a man fix a flat...or the time it took to swing around a half dozen telephone poles...or how much time it took for a boy just to get acquainted with two stray dogs and a brown cat. 
"In short," said the father, "I had forgotten what it is really like to be six years old."

Brothers and sisters, it takes great patience to be a good father.
Ephesians 4:2 “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”
1 Thessalonians 5:14 “And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.”

We are admonished to be patient with all people, including our children. And there have been times in my life when I was not so patient with my children.

Most of the time we forget to let kids be kids.” And to do that we must all exercise more patience with our children.
If I could build a father I would build me with more patience!

II. BUILDING A GODLY FATHER
My grandson after the unity service baptism he insisted me to baptize him. One day after school he said please grandpa baptize me. I told him you have to believe in Jesus and he said he did. So what can I do except to baptize him in the bathtub on that day.

 

Certainly, this little 4-year old had learned something good from his pastor grandpa.

II Thessalonians 3:6-8 “In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, we command you, brothers, to keep away from every brother who is idle and does not live according to the teaching you received from us. For you yourselves know how you ought to follow our example. We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it. On the contrary, we worked night and day, laboring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.”
We parents and fathers do set an example for our children to follow. Be it good or bad, they often do walk in our steps. 

Many young people, for example, have been raised by hard-working parents and they, too, became hard-working adults. 
I Corinthians 11:1 “Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.”
The greatest example, however, that any parent or father can set for his children is that of godliness or Christ-likeness.
If I could build a father I would build me with more godliness!

III. BUILDING A LOVING FATHER
I Cor. 1:8 “We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.”
Illustration: There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in a Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.” On Saturday, 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. 
Dr. James Dobson said, “Loves isn’t something you buy. Your kids spell it T-I-M-E and it costs more than M-O-N-E-Y.”
Illustration:  With a timid voice and idolizing eyes, the little boy greeted his father as he returned from work, "Daddy, how much do you make an hour?" 
Greatly surprised, but giving his boy a glaring look, the father said: "Look, son, not even your mother knows that. Don’t bother me now, I’m tired." 
"But Daddy, just tell me please, how much do you make an hour," the boy insisted. The father finally giving up replied: " Twenty dollars per hour." "Okay, Daddy, could you loan me ten dollars?" the boy asked. 
Showing restlessness and positively disturbed, the father yelled: "So that was the reason you asked how much I earn, right! Go to sleep and don’t bother me anymore!" 
It was already dark and the father was meditating on what he had said and was feeling guilty. Maybe he thought, his son wanted to buy something. Finally, trying to ease his mind, the father went to his son’s room. 
"Are you asleep son?" asked the father. "No, Daddy. Why?" replied the boy partially asleep. "Here’s the money you asked for earlier," the father said. "Thanks, Daddy!" rejoiced the son, while putting his hand under his pillow and removing some money. "Now I have enough! Now I have twenty dollars!" the boy said to his father, who was gazing at his son, confused at what his son just said. "Daddy could you sell me one hour of your time?"

The Bible tells the story of Absalom who was the son of King David. Through a series of circumstances, Absalom began to despise his father and made plans to become king in his father’s place. He sowed seeds of division and rebellion in his father’s kingdom. In the beginning he did things that did not seem to be a danger, but he was winning the hearts of the people of Israel. The day came when he saw an opportunity and openly led a rebellion against his father David in an attempt to take over his kingdom. David’s greatest fear was that Absalom would be destroyed in the battle, which is what eventually happened. When word came that Absalom had been killed, far from being happy about it, the Bible says, “The king was shaken. He went up to the room over the gateway and wept. As he went, he said: ‘O my son Absalom! My son, my son Absalom! If only I had died instead of you — O Absalom, my son, my son!’” (2 Samuel 18:33). 

David’s heart was not to destroy his son, but to save his son, even if it meant dying in his place, in spite of what Absalom thought. Absalom wanted to be king, and the ironic thing is that David may have eventually made him a king. David was not his enemy, he was his father. He loved him in spite of his rebellion.
If I could build a father I would build me with more love!

CONCLUSION
I Cor. 3:7 “So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.”
Not only does God make things grow, He also builds people and builds them well. If we fathers had a prayer today, hopefully, it would be, “Father God, make me a better father; a more patient, more godly and more loving.”