Everyone tears up when talking about their fathers – whether of joy or of hurt. Sadly, in my walk in ministry, more often or not the tears are of hurt.
That is, I believe, the greatest obstacle to the Christian Gospel – men. God designed us to be the spiritual leaders of our household, for wives to trust their lives to us based on our intimate relationship with our Heavenly Father. Yet, with no offense to amazing wives and mothers, we generally see women leading the way in families, and even our churches.
That’s what makes the upcoming movie Courageous (in theatres in Canada and the US on September 30) so much more powerful. We see fathers, in very different circumstances of fatherhood, being united through connections in law enforcement to support one another in their journeys as fathers. The circumstances they face are not those of a stereotypical church family, but circumstances that occur in our society far too often.
The movie will challenge fathers and husbands to reflect on how they are leading their own families, or whether they are even taking that responsibility seriously or not. It will show wives just how powerful submission to their husbands can be. It will even show children and youth why parents do what they do, to gain appreciation for the love their parents are trying to show them.
Courageous will change men. It will change families. It will change communities. People of His church, be ready and willing to walk alongside our men and our families, so that they can not only be changed, but also inspire other families to align with our Heavenly Father.
