A voice cries: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. And the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
John came to prepare the way. He was a fulfillment of this prophesy. We also are called to prepare the way. Every day those who are lost look at us. They see how we talk. How we act. How we live.
For you know how, like a father with his children, we exhorted each one of you and encouraged you and charged you to walk in a manner worthy of God, who calls you into his own kingdom and glory.
Exhort and Encourage. All fathers are called to this. To strongly urge our children through life and to strongly encourage our children through life.
Exhort could be replaced with "make urgent appeals" or to "incite by advice or argument". I kind of like the incite version. It is more along what you actually do as a dad. You need to fire up your kids. Like a good coach does with his team.
Make the appeals, make the arguments, yell, cheer, cry, laugh, prepare them for the fight ... and then send them out into the field.
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