Missing in Action

Calling all Dads and Husbands!!! Where are you?

Think about the demographics of your Christian family who you worship with. How many families can you think of where the father brings his children to worship and bible class while the mother stays at home? Can you think of any? Are there any? Different question. How many families can you think of where the mother brings her children to worship and bible class while the father stays at home? Okay, you can stop counting. Get the point?

What is going on with this? Why are men being taught that its the woman's responsibility to teach and instill faith to the children while they sit watching the game or in their favorite fishing hole? This is not what God planned. This is not what God wants. And I can only imagine the impact that it is having on the lack of spiritual depth that we are witnessing in our kids.

Check out these few verses: Genesis 2:16-17, 3:6, 3:9 and Romans 5:14.

Genesis 2:16-17 - Ever notice that God never spoke to Eve. She wasn't there. I wonder if she had even been created yet?

Genesis 3:6 - Where is Adam when Eve was talking with the serpent? If you're reading from the NIV, you'll notice very clearly that, he was standing right next to her!

Genesis 3:9 - When it says that God called out, "where are you," this was a 2nd person singular masculine pronoun. In other words, he was talking directly to Adam and only to Adam. He didn't say, "where are ya'll", "where are you guys", or anything else that could indicate he was calling for both Adam and Eve. Because he wasn't. He was calling for Adam because he had business with Adam - not Eve. He held Adam responsible for what had just happened and he was going to the source.

Romans 5:14 - Did you see that Eve was never mentioned in this text? In v.12, Paul uses the greek word anthropos. This refers to man, as in human. But when he was ready to get specific - he called out Adam and never mentioned Eve. He said that death (because of sin) started with Adam.

When we consider all this evidence, it gets real clear, real quick that Adam was the first person who sinned, not Eve. And since Genesis doesn't record Adam "doing" anything at all, that sin must have been a sin of ommission. And that was the specific problem. He didn't protect his wife and provide the spiritual leadership that she needed and deserved.

After all these years, it seems that we haven't learned much from Adam. Guys, we're dropping the ball! It's not just your wife's responsibility to make sure that kids are introduced to and taught to live for Jesus Christ - it's your too. Let's start honoring God by giving our wives the spiritual leadership that God desires, by showing our kids how to live a life that imitates Christ (1 Cor. 11:1) and by standing up for your family and protecting them from Satan's attacks!