One young dad was excited to get his daughter and son on the tennis court. He had visions of them being the next Steffi Graf and Andre Agassi. Following his love for the sport and his dreams for them, he led them through drills and conditioning at a very young age.

Dads disciple their family every day through actions and words. Sometimes it is intentional. Most times it is not. A passion for work, career advancement, financial security and love for a sport are not bad things in and of themselves. But if any of those are what kids perceive as dad’s primary focus, he may be unintentionally discipling his family in a secular worldview. The call is to disciple like Josiah.

Then the king went to the Lord’s temple and with all the men of Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, as well as the priests and the prophets – all the people from the youngest to the oldest … he read all the words of the book of the covenant. – 2Kings 23:2. Can you imagine the people’s perspective of the king himself, so convicted by the word of God, that he read it to them? That would be like the president of the United States going on national television and reading the gospel of John with conviction. That is most likely not going to happen. Maybe a governor will read God’s word from the state capitol steps. Doubtful. How about dads reading Scripture to their family every evening? Doable. Josiah chose to accept responsibility to disciple his people. He introduced them to the God of their ancestors and charged them to follow His commands, decrees and statutes. What Josiah did not do: He did not give his interpretation of the words written; nor did he give his opinion on the words in the book. He let the word of God speak for itself. Josiah knew that as the book convicted him when Shaphan read it in his presence, the word would in turn convict all those that would hear him reading it. Like Josiah, dads should read Scripture to the family regularly and make a covenant for the home to live under the authority of the word of God. Disciple like Josiah and the kids will catch your passion for the Lord.

Fortunately, the dad referenced above got wise counsel from his bride. She suggested that the kids may not have the same love for tennis that he had. The dad heard what the Lord was saying through her. Every child is uniquely gifted by God and as a dad, he needed to tune-in to help the kids recognize and grow into their unique giftedness.
Tips to Disciple Like Josiah:

• Read 2Kings 22 & 23 and 2Chronicles 34 to get familiar with Josiah;
• Read Scripture daily, be grounded in a biblical worldview;
• Read Scripture regularly as a family and pray together;
• Kids will catch what you have. Be sure that what you have is what you want them to catch.

Prayer guide: Thank You Lord for Your word and the example of Josiah. I confess, my drive to succeed in this world has dominated the example set in the home. I tend to disciple the kids in a secular worldview. Forgive me. I commit to read Scripture daily and pray You help me discern what You are saying through Your word and provide clarity on how I am to disciple my family. I accept responsibility to disciple like Josiah. That is the dad You call me to be and that is the dad my kids need to see. Amen.

A faithful father accepts responsibility to disciple like Josiah.