“For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the gospel. Wherefore I beseech you, be ye followers of me.”
“For this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and faithful in the Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every church”
I have a spiritual father, and I follow him!
There have been several discussions on the biblical basis for calling someone a spiritual father. Well, a father is someone who brought you into a vocation. Please, don’t take this out of context.
The person whose witnessing and preaching brought you to the faith is your spiritual parent in the faith; the person whose preaching and exhortation brought you to the ministry is your spiritual father in the ministry; the person who exhortation led you to partake in the gospel is your spiritual father in the gospel.
That is not to say that he hold absolute control over you, but he has a right to speak into your life and make inputs. Your spiritual father knows that he has no dominion over you but is a helper of your joy. He is committed to helping you find joy in what you do.
I have a spiritual father and I follow him; in the same vein, I expect my spiritual children who I have begotten by the gospel to follow me.
The journey of faith is much simpler when we learn to follow the example of those who preached the gospel to us. These are men with flaws yet having gone ahead of us in the faith, they know the path better than us.
We may have ten thousand instructors who teach and tutor us but not many fathers. Spiritual fathers are such a great blessing and we count it a privilege to honour them.
Be blessed
Simpe Bediako
