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I became a father for the first time on Nov. 25th, 2013. My oldest daughter, Anna, was born and boy what a ride it has been. My wife and I now have three girls and I can say that being a father is one of the coolest things ever.  We didn’t know if this was going to be part of our story, as prior to our first child, we dealt with fertility struggles and were given a 5% chance of getting pregnant. God apparently doesn’t care about percentages, cause here we are.

One of the funniest things that has started happening is that we are starting to see more and more of my wife and I in our kids as they get older. From attitudes, faces, personality traits, the inability to wake up in the morning, and cow-licks, we are passing things down to them for sure.

As a father it has caused me to look at my dad, my father-in-law, and my grandfathers. They are all so, so different. My dad, quiet and introverted. My father-in-law, very extroverted, the life of the party, and not necessarily quiet. My maternal grandfather, people focused, introverted, lived a slow life, and a homebody. But the thing these three men have in common…a love of Jesus. They all live it out differently, but they live it out in a way that makes it easy to pass down.

As fathers it is our responsibility to pass down our faith to our kids. This comes both in word AND deed. These are questions I constantly ask myself, and I would encourage you to ask yourself…

Do my kids know that I love Jesus, not that I just attend church?
Do my kids see me live a life faithful to Jesus?
I am the first representation of our Heavenly Father to my kids. Am I representing Him well?
Do my kids see Jesus as a priority in my life?

Passing a heritage of faith down to my children is a heavy burden to carry, but it is one worth carrying. It is my prayer that as fathers, and parents, that we pass down a heritage that is focused on the person of Jesus, on what it is to be His disciple, and on making His name known where we live, work and play.

Joel Gutowsky
Director of Student Life
Logos Preparatory Academy