BIBLICAL FATHERHOOD--THE GREAT NEED OF THE WORLD 4. f) HE HAS A VISION FOR A GODLY DYNASTY THE BIBLICAL FATHER SEES HIS CHILDREN AS ARROWS

6e) SHARP ARROWS continued, HOW TO GET THE ARROW SHARP!

Ecclesiastes 10:10 TLB says, "A dull axe requires great strength; BE WISE AND SHARPEN THE BLADE."

Men, it is one thing to bring arrows into the world. It is another thing to make them sharp. It takes sharp parents to make sharp children. It takes sharp Christians to sharpen fellow Christians.

Hebrews 4:12 says, "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and SHARPER THAN ANY TWO-EDGED SWORD, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Christian fathers, must at all cost, daily impart God's Word to their children. We can do this at Family Devotions following the morning breakfast and again after evening supper.

We must not ever think that the pastor's sermon once a week is sufficient. It is not. One meal per week is not enough to keep the physical body alive and one spiritual meal per week is certainly not enough to keep us alive, let alone sharp! Blunt Christians are blunt because of insufficient exposure to the sharp two-edged sword of God's Word.

We also must regularly expose ourselves to sharp Christian fellowship. We must also make sure that our children's companions are sharp, at least for their age, in the Christian faith. Proverbs 27:17 says, "Iron sharpens iron, so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend."

Do not be naive regarding the friends you keep, nor the peers of your children. Our companions influence us far more for good or bad than we realize. And especially the peers of our teens. Proverbs 13:20 says, "He that walks with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed."

How sharp is your countenance these days? This is largely determined by the company you keep. What we are in our heart is revealed on our countenance and the discerning eye will observe it. Isaiah 3:9 says, "The show of their countenance doth witness against them."

Be encouraged. Colin Campbell