a good father

Matthew 17:14-27

 ^14-16At the bottom of the mountain, they were met by a crowd of waiting people. As they approached, a man came out of the crowd and fell to his knees begging, "Master, have mercy on my son. He goes out of his mind and suffers terribly, falling into seizures. Frequently he is pitched into the fire, other times into the river. I brought him to your disciples, but they could do nothing for him."

I can't imagine what that father was thinking when he told his wife that he was going to take his son to see Jesus. Maybe he was determined.  Maybe he was scared.  For sure, he wanted his son healed.  "Do you think you will even have a chance to see Him", his wife might have asked.  The father might have been disappointed when the disciples told him that Jesus had gone for a hike and they didn't know exactly when he would return.  But somehow the disciples discovered that the boy was tormented, and then one of the disciples took the chance to try to cast out the demon, but it didn't work.  So then maybe one of the other disciples tried, but that still didn't work.

I can imagine that the father was pretty disappointed.  Probably frustrated, too.  Then he had to make a decision.  "Do I wait here for Jesus with all of these people staring at me?"  But he waited.  And he begged Jesus to heal him.

As I think about being a father, I realize that I need to take my children to see Jesus.  I need to make sure that they experience the power of Christ.

Heavenly Father, please help me be a good father.  I want to show my children who you are, and I want to help them experience Christ.  I love you, Lord.  I ask in the name of Jesus Christ.