I often wonder what conclusions people draw about God by looking at my life. I want to be a godly husband and an engaged father, so I care most about what my wife and sons see. Secondarily, I consider observations by friends, other family members, and acquaintances. In this post we discuss why it’s so important to know God and show God to our families. Husbands, lead your family to scripture by first knowing God and also by displaying him with your actions.

Do they see God for who He really is? Or, do I get in the way? Does my anger suggest God is irrational and mean? Do my sarcastic remarks hint at a God who harbors resentments?

The longer I walk this earth, the more I realize my life is not my own. Everything in it belongs to God. From the air I breathe to the computer keys I’m tapping. And, He wants me to make the most of these things. Not for my own glory, but for His.

A two-word reminder helps me keep this in focus: KNOW & SHOW.

God wants me to KNOW Him

We see this early in scripture. God does things so that He will be known by His people. For forty years, He led the Israelites in the desert with food that never ran out and clothes that never wore out. He said, “I did this so that you might know that I am the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 29:6)

Maybe you want to be a godly father. You realize that you can’t have a great relationship with your kids without them knowing you! That’s the first step. To really connect with God, we must KNOW Him. Some ways we can do that include:

Read and study God’s word (Psa 119:92-93)
Talk to God often in prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:17)
Connect with other believers (Hebrews 10:25)
God wants me to SHOW Him
Again, in the Old Testament, we see God frequently showcasing His might, power, or discipline in order that the whole world would see Him. Often, He did this through people or nations. In Exodus, God sends the plague on the Egyptian firstborn. One of the reasons He gives for doing this, is so that the Pharaoh “will know that the Lord makes a distinction between Egypt and Israel.” (Exodus 11:7)

Through God’s relationship to His people, He’s showing Himself to the world. This is where I lean in and get excited and concerned. God’s using my relationship with him as a proxy for what it means to be in His family.

How I relate to God shows people around me a lot about God.

The more pure and true the relationship, the more accurate their picture of God will be. Jesus said if we’ve seen Him, we’ve seen the Father (John 14:9).

As a father – this is one of the key reasons I want to set a godly example for my sons. I don’t just want a spiritual pat on the back. I want to give them an increasingly clear picture of God the Father, through the power of the Holy Spirit in my life.

This is one of the great rewards – and responsibilities – of fathers! We must KNOW God, and we must SHOW God. To our families first, then to the rest of the world. We just might be the only window through which they ever see Him.

The Manhood Journey team encourages you to check out Family Table Time. Their mission is to “Get families talking,” usually around the dinner table. They provide discussion questions for families. We are featuring some a few blog posts. This week, we’ve borrowed their questions on Endurance.

Discuss these questions with your family:

Why might you win in sports or get a great grade if you just kept going and didn’t quit?
Has anyone in your family ever shown great endurance?
Why do we respect people who show endurance?
Learn more about www.familytabletime.com.

Share This Story, Choose Your Platform!

About the Author:

Ryan Sanders is the Director of Outreach at Manhood Journey. He is married to Tonia and they have three children. He is currently a doctoral student at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary where he received the Master of Divinity. He is a Fellow at The Colson Center for Christian Worldview and serves as Lay Pastor at McLean Bible Church in Washington, D.C.