Discipleship begins at Home (Eph 6:4)

by Rev. Jeremiah Cheung

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

Discipleship begins at home. How? simply stated, we do discipleship at home by employing the “do not… instead” principle — “do not exasperate your children,” this is the negative approach; “instead bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord” is the positive approach.

1. Do not exasperate your children

What does it mean to “exasperate your children”? It means we must not use inappropriate words or actions to provoke your children towards anger, so that lasting resentment is generated their hearts.

There are 7 possibilities: we exasperate our children when we

a. are easily angered
b. speak carelessly
c. are unreasonable
d. are unwilling to listen
e. fail to keep our word
f. say one thing and do another
g. play favorites

2. Raise Them Up

According to the truth in God’s word, we raise our children up through a positive relationship.

a. Connect your child to the Lord by being an authentic role model

b. Teach your child to read God’s Word do they know the will of God

c. Create a positive relationship with your child. The stronger your relationship, the more you can exert a positive influence on them.

– Communicate. Speak less, Listen more.

– Invest time. The more time you spend together, the more you can influence them

As Fathers, we must connect to God and be a true disciple. Only then can our children learn from our example and we can be a strong and positive influence in our children’s lives.