Throughout my short life on earth…48 years to be exact, I have been given a variety of titles: Coach. Sergeant. Preacher. Husband. Bus driver. Uncle. Son. Mister. Soldier. Veteran. Brother. Nephew. Friend. Pastor. Rev. Teacher. Dad.
Ah…Dad! I love it.
No matter how many times my children have called me dad, never one time
have I ever said, “stop calling me, DAD!”
The older that I get and the more independent my children become, I
cherish the word even more. On September
2nd my son will be moving to Texas to serve as a youth minister and
on September 5th my daughter, who married a Navy Seabee will be
moving to California. All at once, the
house will be empty of noise and clutter and left on lights and piles of
clothes and the constant calling out of the best three-letter word
ever…DAD!
The first time I
heard my son speak, the word came out dada!
It melted my heart and I wanted him to keep saying it over and over
again. When my daughter came along and
she starting talking, she called me daddy for the longest time. Dada, daddy or dad, it doesn’t matter. I love that title!
One of the most important roles a dad has is to
ensure that his children know about a dad who expects our faithfulness to him
and who is eternal in love, grace, mercy, and forgiveness. Ephesians
6:4 declare to dads everywhere to, “bring
[the children] up with the discipline and instruction that comes from the
Lord.” (NLT) Even Moses instructed the dads to “Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with
all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got! Write these commandments that
I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside
your children.” (Deuteronomy
6:5-7 The Message)
Not only do I want to
hear my kids talk to me, but I want them to talk to their heavenly dad,
too. Jeremiah 33:3 says it best, “…Call to me and I
will answer you. I’ll tell you marvelous and wondrous things that you could
never figure out on your own.” (The Message) God
loves it when he hears from his kids. He
loves it when we call him Father.
Dad. Pappa. We never wear out our welcome, nor does our
heavenly Father ever get bored with any of our conversations we have with
him.
Setting on my desk is a plaque my daughter bought me one
year that says, “I’m as lucky as can be,
for the world’s best daddy belongs to me!”
I see the plaque every day and it reminds me that I must live like the
best daddy for my daughter so that she can truly know the best daddy of them
all…our heavenly one!
Remember, Be God Controlled!
Brian
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