Editor’s note: The following is shared from the North River Church of Christ newsletter. When I was young, a waitress came up to me and asked me the all-important question:“What do you want to be when you grow up?” As I sat thinking, in my deep four-year-old mind, I tried to imagine the most epic, strongest, most heroic, and coolest profession on the planet. It’s always fascinating to me that people seem to be born with an innate desire for greatness. Every kid grows up wanting to be something extraordinary. They want to change the world. They want to make a big difference. I think God stitched that inside each of us. So, like many four-year-old boys, the dream of being an astronaut or firefighter or superhero flashed through my mind. But for some reason, those didn’t seem to be epic enough. After some serious pondering, I looked up proudly at the waitress and said, “I want to bea dad!” Since I was young, my dad has been my hero and my best friend. We’ve been on crazy adventures together, had talks filled with tears and laughter, and I’ve always wanted to be exactly like him. It was never because of his job or the car he drove. It wasn’t because he could build a clubhouse or always had the perfect words of wisdom. It was because every Wednesday after school, I knew he would be there to pick me up for another round of father-son time. It was because even in the hardest moments of his life, I saw him come home and kiss my mom. It’s because I’ve watched him constantly dream — for me, for our family, and for Jesus. As I grew and started to learn about Jesus, I realized that the reason I looked up to my dad so much was because he boldly followed this extraordinary man I was reading and hearing about. If Jesus was my dad’s hero, I wanted him to become mine too. I genuinely believe that the most important job in the universe is being a father. It always amazes me that out of allthe titles Jesus could have given God, his favorite one, and the one that made the most sense to Jesus, was “Father.” I thank God every day for my relationship with my dad as I know how rare those relationships are. I know many have grown up without fathers or with ones who were absent or abusive. But one thing I’ve learned is that no matter how much my dad loves me, it will never compare to the never-ending, relentless, unceasing love of God the Father. Still, to this day, when people ask me what I want to be when I grow up, I respond the same way I did when I was four. But now that I know my heavenly Father, and know I am made in his image, my dreams to be like my Father have taken on a much deeper and more eternal meaning. I hope you can celebrate your relationship with your Father today. And for all the dads out there, thanks for being our superheroes.
