Remember when someone gave you a piece of candy when you were little? And, your parents made sure you said “thank you”. Or, when you hurt and made someone else cry, your parents would tell you to say “sorry”. Well, early on our parents taught us principles that we needed to learn and follow. If we violated certain things, there were consequences that came afterwards.

Yet today, we still need to be responsible. There are just certain things in life we need to commit to. Otherwise, it will have devastating effects on our future. These responsibilities are non-negotiable and immutable. These are the ones we can’t bail out of. So before we become impulsive, we should think long and hard about it. For it’s sort of like the point of no return.

So what are these responsibilities? Here are three important things we need to do to before we think of bailing out. It doesn’t matter who you are. It doesn’t matter if you’re a Christian or not. Every single one of us has this responsibility. It’s a principle of God. And Jesus was a good example of this.

Here is what God wants to do.

“He will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children and the hearts of the children to their fathers, so that I will not come and smite the land with a curse” (Mal. 4:6). In other words, there is a curse in action where families will be fragmented, fractured and destroyed. But Christ is going to come and challenge hearts. He will compel fathers’ hearts to be restored to their children. By doing so, the curse that’s coming can be stayed because we as fathers understand the importance of restoring hearts.

Jesus was the model of this. He restored a broken relationship between man and God. And now, He is entrusting this to us. And this has to be done. If you don’t, the only outcome will be disastrous. Each of us should understand this mandate to restore hearts.

In fact, the Bible says He has given to us the ministry of reconciliation. Did you know that Christians are given this ministry? Yes. So where ever we go, reconcile. If you look at the terror in the world today, there are three people – the Jewish people, the Christians and the people who follow the Koran. This is where extremist has gotten their motivation from. Although with differences, all three believe in God. Yes, this is the same God of Abraham, Isaac, Ishmael and Jacob.

Therefore, religion is not going to cut it in this world. We clearly see this from extremist that religion can cause death. Nonetheless, it’s all about reconciling broken relationships. If any of those three people should be bridge relationships and bring reconciliation, it should be Christians. Thus, it should begin with us.

Here are important responsibilities for every man, woman and child that we can’t bail out of.

WHAT YOU CAN’T BAIL OUT OF:

1.    YOUR  RESPONSIBILITY  BEFORE  GOD.

Listen, one day, every one of us will stand before God. It doesn’t matter if you’re Christian or not. How is this? Because there is One lawgiver and One judge. And this is His authority. “There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy…” (Jam. 4:12).

As you probably know, there are those who write books and defame God. It’s ridiculous how man’s mind is trying to change people’s mind as if it’ll change the existence of God. Nonetheless, convincing people that God doesn’t exist are foolish conclusions. How can we be so arrogant and think this is right thinking? The Bible says it this way, “Though everyone else in the world is a liar, God is true. As the Scriptures, say, ‘He will be proved right in what He says, and He will win His case in court’” (Rom. 3:4 NLT). This tells us that in the end God is true and every single one of us regardless of what we believe will stand before the Father. And He will ask us one question, what did you do with my Son?

Here is a good illustration. Close your eyes and point towards true “north”. It doesn’t matter which way you believe north is. There is only one true north. And just like those that right books saying that north is that way or another way, it doesn’t matter because of only one true north.  

All in all, if you’ve never received Christ in your heart, please do so. Although you may not understand everything in the Bible, He is true. Our first responsibility is to put our faith in God. The second is,

2.  THE HEALTH OF YOUR RELATIONSHIPS.

Why are we responsible to maintain healthy relationships? If you distill the Bible into one verse, it would be this, “You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matt. 22:37-30). This tells us firstly to love God. And secondly, to love others.

Aha! God wired us for relationships. That’s right! Although we were made in seclusion, He created each one of us to have healthy relationships with one another. And, God will hold us accountable for this. Otherwise, everything else de-values. So remember, no one is going to keep your relationships healthy but you.

It’s sort of like this. Let’s say someone says they want to be happy. Okay, so you ask them what do you want to make you happy? And they say, well I don’t have a house. I then say, I have five billion dollars! So, instead of giving you a house I’ll give you five mansions. And then they say, wow! I then continue by asking what else do you want to make you happy? And they reply a car would be nice, specifically a corvette. Alright I say, I’ll give you five corvettes! On top of that I’ll give you Mercedes, ATV’s and all kinds of cars. I’ll also give you all the gas you want. Alright, he responds. And in addition, I’ll give you motorcycles too! I’ll also give you all kinds of swimming pools that connect together with slides! And then they added, what about money? And I say, I’ll give you so much money that it will choke you! I’ll even give you gold bars! Wow! I’m happy now, he responds. Then I’ll say, are you sure you’re happy now? Ecstatically he replies yes! And I say well, but there’s just one thing. What is it?  From now on no one else will ever come into your life. Basically, you will live alone. You can enjoy all that you have, but you’ll be by yourself and never see another person for the rest of your life.

Outside of healthy relationships money, luxury and gold are nothing. Sure you’ll have all the cars to drive around, but then what? And although you’ll be happy for the first week or two, you’ll have no one to share it with. And eventually, everything with monetary value diminishes. Therefore, when there are healthy relationships, everything else has value.

Once, I spoke to a multi-millionaire who lost his wife and was estranged from his kids. One night in sadness he said he’d give up all his businesses if he could have his wife and family back. Therefore, none of us can bail-out of the responsibility of reconciling broken relationships because God wired us that way. And this is what gives value.

Significant relationships and making a difference eternally is what’s truly important. And, healthy relationships are the multiplying effect of everything else. So you could have healthy relationships and none of the other stuff and be a wealthy man.

When you think about it, who cares about what you have? Eventually, you’ll die and someone else will end up with all that you had. And, it could be someone who doesn’t even deserve it. Basically, you’ve worked hard all your life, sacrificed everything you got and now to only give it to someone else. Is this dumb or what?  

If however, you do have a broken relationship and a broken heart you should feel the pain. It’s okay. In fact, it should pain your heart to no end. If it didn’t, I’d be concerned about you. So what if someone else closes the door on you?  The Bible says, “As far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men.” ( Rom. 12:18). Which means if they shut the door on you, you keep yours open to them. So don’t let relationships go sour and think it’s normal. And when pain takes place, let it remind you to restore hearts. Be the initiator of reconciliation.

The third and final point of what you can’t bail out of is,

3.    THE CONDITION OF YOUR HEART.

It is important to oversee the condition of our hearts. And yes, this is our responsibility. We can’t blame anybody else. So guard your hearts. “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Prov. 4:23). The same verse in the New Living Bible says it this way, “Above all else, guard your heart, for it affects everything you do” (Prov. 4:23 NLT).

Remember the prodigal son who told his father he wanted his inheritance and didn’t want to wait till his father died? Because the father loved him, he gave his son his portion. Then the son squanders it. Now we don’t know how long the son was gone, but the father had to make due with what he had left.

Amazingly when the son returned, his father was the first to greet him. He even put a ring on his sons finger. In the meantime guess what the father had to do while his son was away? He had to carry on with business with less money. Yes, vendors and bills needed to be paid. Yet, he guarded his heart from being bitter against his son. Although many would see the story is about the prodigal son. To me, it’s about a father who protected his heart so that his son could come back home. It’s a phenomenal story!

And the same goes for us. Fathers, please restore the hearts of your children. Initiate reconciliation and guard the condition of your heart. Don’t allow bad stuff to go into your heart. Because bad stuff will come out. “The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart” (Luk. 6:45).

If we don’t guard the condition of our hearts, our life will be affected by this. Everything will be stained and toxic because of this.

Listen, this is the most litmus test of our faith. That’s why the most important and expensive gift that was given to you was Jesus. On the contrary, this gift bankrupted heaven. Therefore, this gift is not only transferred to you, but through you. This gift is called forgiveness. Forgiveness is not only a sacrament called communion It’s not just a religious mumbo jumbo. It’s far greater than that.

A practical definition of forgiveness is the courage to make things right. Do you think it took courage for Jesus to go to Gethsemane and bear the cross? In addition, to go in front of Pharisees and prepare himself for Calvary? Why do you think he sweat blood at Gethsemane? Jesus asked God for courage to make things right between man and God. This goes for us, fathers and mothers will require the courage to make things right. Ask God for the courage to make it right.

It’s not just simply saying I forgive you. But also the courage to make things right. The ministry of reconciliation gives us the gift of forgiveness to give to one another. For that which was broken will then be restored. And so don’t tolerate broken relationships. As far as it depends on you, keep your door open to others.

In recapping, there are three keys of responsibilities to remember. The first of what you can’t bail out of is your responsibility before God. The second is the health of your relationships. And thirdly, the condition of your heart. So take the time to build faith with God.  And pray and ask God to see things correctly. If we indeed bring reconciliation in our relationships, the Lord says I will give a blessing! And then, He’ll say, welcome home my faithful servant!

Happy Father’s Day!

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.      If God asked you what did you do with my Son, how would you answer?

2.      Of the three responsibilities is there an area the Lord is bringing to your attention? 

3.      Do you have a broken relationship with someone? Would you be willing to initiate reconciliation?

4.      Group: pray for courage to make things right in broken relationships.

5.      What impacted you most today and how will you be a better person because of it?