ETERNITY

[Ranb2khz]

An Influential Father



"As Jesus was walking along the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon, who was called Peter, and his brother Andrew. They were casting a net into the sea, since they were fishermen. “Follow Me,” He told them, “and I will make you fishers of men!” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."

"Going on from there, He saw two other brothers, James the son of Zebedee, and his brother John. They were in a boat with Zebedee their father, mending their nets, and He called them. Immediately they left the boat and their father and followed Him." ~ Matthew 4:18-22

Have you ever wondered about the less familiar names in the Bible? Many people are mentioned just once — often in a genealogy and identified only as “the father of ...” But one lesser-known father is mentioned 11 times in the Gospels and always in association with his sons. His name is Zebedee, and he’s the father of two of Christ’s disciples.

All we know is that he was a fisherman in Galilee, the father of James and John, and the husband of Salome (Matthew 27:56; Mark 15:40). Although there is no mention of Zebedee following Jesus, perhaps his influence is seen in the fact that his sons and his wife loved their Messiah and were faithful to Him (Matthew 20:20).

Zebedee accomplished what every Christian father should aspire to achieve — he raised his children to follow Christ. What greater joy could we have than to see our sons and daughters walking with Jesus, not just in the early years but even after they grow up and leave home?

The key to this kind of influence is the example we set for our family. No matter what we say, it’s our actions that reveal who we really are and what we truly believe. When we’re fully committed to Christ in daily life, our children will see — and hopefully they will long to follow Him, as we have.

https://www.intouch.org/read/magazine/daily-devotions/an-influential-father