~ A place to find answers to gnawing spiritual questions ~
Question: Describe the relationship that God wants a father and son to have. Is there a special bond that they should have?Answer: This question is rather general in its scope, and one could easily write a book about this. I will try to give a summary and some Bible references, so you can look up some of these things yourself.
Apparently you are of the female gender as I gather from your signature. Since this is the case, I want to declare right away that the relationship that God wants between father and son is not very much different from that of a father and his daughter. There should be a deep bond of "agape" love between a father and all of his children, whether they are boys or girls. If the father and children are "born again' believers, so much the advantage. The best thing a child can get from his or her father is that the father is living a consistent Christian life. Then he will have the opportunity to be led by the Holy Spirit in his decisions and relationship regarding his children. If the mother is a Christian, exercising a positive supporting role in this, then that is also a great advantage for everyone.
For the children God gave the fourth commandment to honor their parents. This is accompanied by a promise of long life. (Exodus 20:12, Ephesians 6:1-3). Ephesians 6 carries the thought a little further by exhorting the fathers to treat their children lovingly and kindly, and to bring them up in the teachings of the Word of God.
A father would naturally feel a bond and a responsibility toward either a son or a daughter. He is the one who, along with the mother, brought about their very existence. He would feel an obligation to raise that child, and guide him or her safely into the age of maturity. The child, by the same token, being in a home with this relationship, would feel a sense of dependence and affection in response to the loving care given.
The book of Proverbs gives many of the teachings which a father should teach his son, but most of these teachings would also apply to a daughter. Note the first eight chapters of Proverbs. The mother is also responsible for teaching the children, but God places the final responsibility on the father for bringing children up in the ways of God.
Of course, it is true, since the boy is of the same gender as his father, there would be a tendency on his part to imitate his father, and there would be an obligation of the father to be a role model for his son. Men and women have different roles to play in this world, so the son should be taught to take his place in society, and likewise, the girls should be taught to fit into their natural role in society.
