Men of God: Become More than a “Good” Person

Since becoming a father, my biggest fear has been that my children will fall away from God and the Church.  I know that the best way to teach is by example. Jesus tells us that in John 5:19, when He says, “Amen, Amen I say to you, a son cannot do anything on his own, but only what he sees his father doing; For what he does, his son will do also.”  After reading this, I have often worried about whether I’m a good enough example for my kids to follow, especially my two teenage boys. I want them to grow up to be “Men of God,” not men of this world.   I always felt that there was something else I should be doing to show my boys just what it means to be a Christian man, a follower of Christ.  I always felt like there had to be more to the Christian life than just going to Mass and being a “good” person.

There is no better place to lead by example than in missions.  I learned this while on a short-term mission trip with Family Missions Company in May 2012, and God confirmed it to me on our second mission trip the following November.  Being in Mexico, serving the poor, and bringing the Gospel to them, changed me in many ways; but most importantly, it confirmed the importance of a father’s example to his children.  Seeing those rancho (small village) chapels empty of men and hearing the prayers of the women for their husbands and children, made me see the great need for more men in missions.  Strong Christian men are desperately needed to help lead these lost men back to God, so they can become the Christian leaders for their own families.   As men, we must step up and show the love of Jesus to the world because it is in desperate need of that these days.

By Travis Seilhan