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The Sacred Calling of Being a Dad

Father’s Day is a little different for me this year.

My son Trey got married recently and we had a wonderful day of celebration as we welcomed Annie into our family and they committed their lives to each other as an act of worship to our good God. And I was reminded personally in a new way the remarkable privilege and calling we have from the Lord in being a DAD.

I spent most of the wedding day bouncing from family member to friend to guests enjoying so many important people in our lives coming together to mark this occasion with our families. I was in my extroverted personality’s wheelhouse and suddenly found it time to line up and walk down the aisle as the wedding began. I settled in behind Trey and my wife Ingrid as we started the short walk down to our seats.

Out of seemingly nowhere came a very strong and somewhat unexpected surge of emotion. To put it honestly, all I could think about for the next 30 minutes was how to muffle the sobs and not become a major distraction to the main event! Weddings are obviously emotional times in life, but I didn’t see anyone else around me struggling to keep it together in the same way.

I’ve definitely become more emotional as I’ve aged, but as the tears eventually stopped flowing I thought a bit more deeply about why this event produced a waterfall coming from my eyes. Deep emotions happen when the things that truly matter most to us are involved. It’s why I can easily tear up when a sports team locker room scene comes up on my television screen. And it’s why I think I lost it as I saw Trey committing to leave our family and to become one with his new bride.

I realized anew how much being a DAD matters to me. There are so many things that compete for our attention, so many pursuits that easily eat up our time and energy and resources. The desires for career achievement, financial security, and physical health and strength can push aside even what we believe and know we want to invest most in with our very lives. Our culture seems to struggle with various definitions of what “true manhood” looks like in our day and age. Seeking to love and teach and serve in my role as a father can seem to run counter-cultural to what’s presented on the screens that run our lives.

But watching my son walk down a center aisle brought clarity again to a central calling from the LORD in my life. God has asked me to do all things I can to help my children become more like Jesus. That invitation trumps so many other roles I play and demands my focus and best. This reminder from Solomon in Scripture frames what we are to chase beautifully with these words:

PROVERBS 23:24: “The father of godly children has cause for JOY; what a pleasure to have children who are wise.

I’m now three weeks away from my emotional outburst. As I look at beautiful wedding pictures I am challenged on this Father’s Day to match my life habits and choices with my emotions and passions. Don’t be afraid to ask more and deeper questions, share your own spiritual journey and story, create special experiences that excite and fit your kids, apologize when you screw up, write a note that shares what you see and love and really feel, and pursue Jesus personally in a way that demonstrates that is indeed what you care about most in this life. 

And as we seek to be godly dads, the best news is that what fuels our efforts most is our relationship with our Heavenly Father.  Tim Keller reminds us in this description:

“The only person who dares wake up a King at 3 am for a glass of water is a child. We have that kind of access to God as our Father…”

May you experience and receive the downpour of love God longs to give you this Fathers Day…and then in turn pour it out generously on your kids each day…

Chip Huber
Bible Teacher/Director of Student Life & Programs/Boys Soccer Coach