I think it's safe to say none of us are perfect parents.

Today, on Truth for Life, Alastair Begg addresses some of the most common mistakes

well-meaning parents make.

Find out what matters most in our parenting priorities and where we can turn

for support and guidance. We're focusing on Paul's warning to Christian fathers found in

Colossians chapter 3.

Verse 21, fathers, do not provoke your children, lest they become discouraged.

We've been learning, at least I hope we've been learning, how the instruction that is provided

here and elsewhere in the Bible concerning the Christian home,

how it benefits not only those who dwell within the Christian home, but it also benefits society,

makes an impact on a culture when it becomes obvious to people who look on that Jesus is actually the king,

that Jesus presides over the family life and in the home.

It's very challenging, isn't it, to put it in those terms, at least I find it so,

to realize that it is our home life, our family

life, set within the context of our church family life, that is then to provide a significant

advertisement for the Christian faith, and not least of all in this express area concerning

fatherhood. Now, when we read the Bible, we read it

in light of the then, we read it in light of the now. We do not live in Colosse, we live

in Cleveland. I think we all recognize that. We do not live in the first century, we live

in the 21st century. And so we need to understand at least a little of what Paul, if you like,

was dealing with, and then to apply that to what it means for us. And I say just briefly,

in Roman civilization, it was a tough and a dangerous place for children because of the father's power, the Patriotestus, as it was.

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