Super Dad

Being a dad is not for the faint of heart. When you become a father, God entrusts you with another life -- a whole person that you are supposed to mold and shape into something that is pleasing to God and functional to society. Society's demands on what a man/woman should be are pretty high, but God's standards are higher...much higher.

We, as fathers, are stewards of our children, just like we are stewards of our time, talents, and money. We will ultimately answer to God for how we have raised our children -- and that should send a chill up your spine. Paul wrote that we should not "exasperate your children, so that they will not lose heart." (Col 3:21) He also stated that we have the responsibility to discipline and educate our children in the Lord (Eph 6:4). Those are big responsibilities to have. We are responsible for how our children turn out.

Tonight, I was delivered a wake-up call of sorts from my 2 year old son. There is no doubt that he loves his daddy. But I, like most fathers, tend to have a hard time actually spending time with him. When I get home from work, I want to relax. I want to zone out and watch TV, or something. But all Zachary wants is for his daddy to play with him. He is craving some attention from me. Most nights, I confess, I just want him to play on his own, and stay out of trouble. But tonight, it hit me how important it is for me to spend time with him. Why I must make time for him.

After his bath tonight, I got him into his PJs. Tonight, his shirt was a Superman shirt. After I got him ready for bed, I left him to play in his room, while I went to our bedroom. Jessica and I were sorting through some old clothes. As we have both lost a little weight recently, we were looking to see if any of the old clothes fit. I grabbed an old t-shirt that had a Superman logo on it, and decided to try it on, since Zach was wearing his (it fit, happily). As I was putting it on, Zach came into the room, and saw my shirt. He started saying "Superman!" and pointing at my shirt. He was saying it over and over, "Superman! Superman!"

I pointed to his shirt, and asked him, "are you Superman too?" His reply: "No! Superman Daddy! Superman Daddy!"

My son thinks I am Superman. It's time I started to act like it. Maybe it is time for you to act like a Superman to your kids too.