If I were to hurt my wife’s feelings in a conversation, I need to repent, to confess my sin to the Lord, and to ask for forgiveness from her. Don’t wait for your wife to come to you; go to her, repent, and ask forgiveness. And be specific, acknowledging what you did and why you did it, and demonstrating that you are seeking by God’s grace to change. In all this, be sure to heed the words of James: “Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God” (James 1:19, 20).
He who would lead his family must lead them in repentance. Christian men should not make excuses for their failures, but take responsibility. Remember that repentance is not a small work in the Christian life; it is the Christian life. Martin Luther said, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, “Repent,” he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” John Calvin taught, “Repentance is not merely the start of the Christian life; it is the Christian life.”
The goal of being chief repenters is to become less like your old self, and more like your Savior. As a Christian, you are in Christ; you are united to Him and in communion with Him (John 15:1-5; Romans 8:1). And that means that the real you, as a Christian man, is a repenter, a loather of sin, and a grower in the grace of God. We all are given opportunities to reflect that grace into the lives of those around us, and Christian men are given a special opportunity to do in their home.
Lead them well.
This article originally appeared here.
