So this devotional will be a bit different. It’s going to be questions one would ask their father / dad. These questions come from a book by Vincent Staniforth called Questions for My Father / Finding the Man behind your Dad. I’m doing this because of the last verse in the New Testament. Malachi 4:6
And he will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction.
God wants this divide to be healed. He wants the father-wound to begin healing in each child and father.
So here goes:
What’s the most important lesson you learned from your dad?
Who was your first love?
What’s your biggest regret?
As a boy what did you want to be when you grew up?
What was your happiest teenage day?
Do you find yourself saying the same things to me that your dad said to you?
How did you learn about the facts of life?
What’s it like having grown up children?
What does God mean to you?
What’s your secret to making a women smile?
Do you ever think about your mom and dad?
Do you ever think about death?
How will I know when I’ve met my true love?
Should I strive to be happy or successful?
What’s the biggest mistake you’ve made and what can I learn from it?
How should I deal with hard times?
What makes a good dad?
What makes a good son or daughter?
How does a dad get through his child’ adolescence?
What did you feel the first time you cradled me in your arms?
Should marriage really mean forever?
What’s your favorite book (movie, story) and why?
How would you feel if I wanted to be an artist or poet?
How did you deal with your father’s death?
What did you want to do but never had the chance?
What’s your own golden rule?
Looking back through your grandad, dad, and so on, what characteristic do we all share?
What have you learned from being a dad?
Have you ever faced total despair? What did you do?
What are your guiding principles for doing business?
How does the role of a dad and mom differ?
What would you change about your style of fathering?
So this was just a sample and there are so many more questions in the book. But this kind of questioning time can lead to great discussions and insights. Of course you can come up with your own set of questions. Unfortunately there are many people who don’t have a good enough of relationship with their dad or even have a dad — for this line of questioning to even be possible. I’d suggest to someone in that situation to find a trusted elder man to ask these questions. Begin the conversation. Let’s get the generations talking to each other again.