Recent Experiences: Faith in God Even When Men Shock the Conscience, Raising Children Whose Faith Rests on God

I became a person of faith on February 16, 1997. For me, it was for good. It is still for good.

Over the years, I have come to understand that the journey of faith does not guarantee perfection. It was never meant to. If perfection were possible, Christ would not have needed to come. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

Faith is not a journey into flawlessness; it is a journey into character. And character matters. Perfection is impossible, but growth is not. As we walk with God, we are formed. Even in our imperfections, some things become beneath us, not because we are perfect, but because we are being shaped.

For me, faith is not transactional. It is not a tool or a bargaining chip. It is my life. If faith cannot be my life, I would rather not pretend. It informs everything I do because my faith is expressed through values, and those values are the markers of my existence. Scripture says, “By their fruits you shall know them” (Matthew 7:16). Not by titles. Not by language. By fruits.

My wife and I got married on November 25, 2006. We waited fifteen years for our first child. Fifteen years. What sustained us was not motivational speaking or performance. It was faith, not as an activity, but as a way of life.

One thing I now understand deeply is this: faith must never be dependent on another man, irrespective of how highly placed he may be or the roles he may once have played in your life along the journey of faith. We follow men and women only as they follow Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). Christ is the standard. And if Christ is the standard, then we must know Him for ourselves so we can discern when anyone deviates from Him. Our faith must not rest on human wisdom (1 Corinthians 2:5).

One of my greatest commitments as a father is that my child’s faith will not be a borrowed faith. My experience of God can guide him, but it cannot replace his own. He must know God for himself, to the point that even if I lose my way tomorrow, he will not lose his. His conviction must be anchored in personal revelation.

Recent experiences have made this clearer to me. If my faith had been built on men, I could have thrown in the towel. I now understand why some denounce the faith. They made men their standard, and when those men acted in ways that shocked the conscience, their faith collapsed.

But I am not serving man. I cannot bow my knees to God and bow them to man. “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6).

Men will fail. Women will fail. Institutions will fail. God will not.

So to those of us raising children: one of the greatest gifts we can give them is not control or religious performance. It is helping them experience God personally. Teach them to pray, even if it starts small. Help them build their own altar. Guide them according to their age. Let their faith be independent, anchored in God.

Anyone who claims to represent God but does not treat people as God would treat them is not representing Him. I refuse to visit the failures of men upon a God who is too faithful to fail (Lamentations 3:22–23).

That is my #50PlusDad reflection today.

I hope it helps someone.

Do have an INSPIRED week ahead.