“Dad.”
“I see them. I won’t run them over. She just never listens to me. I’m so
tired of—”
“Dad. They’re shooting at each other.”
This was one moment with my father that I will never forget. Dad and I were on our way through one of the more rundown parts of Flint, Michigan, to pick something up from a friend who lived there. Dad was distracted with a story he was telling me when I saw the teenagers who had been in the road suddenly scatter to duck behind trees and cars. Something inside told me things were off even before I heard the shots.
Dad immediately slammed the car into reverse to get away from them.
One boy was shot. I saw him go down behind a tree; I screamed that we had to try to save him. My father yelled, “We have to get out of here!” All I could do was cry as I watched the scene fade away.
I know a lot of people who might say my dad did something wrong that day. That instead of trying to save himself and me, he should have done the “Christian” thing. He should have tried to save the boy who had fallen.
But my father didn’t do anything wrong. In fact, in that moment, he emulated God so well that I will always remember it. He made me his priority.
And this is just like God does. God made each one of us His priority when He sent His Son to this earth to face the cross. By doing this, He showed us what love really is.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. [5] It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. [6]Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. [7] It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7, New International Version (emphasis mine)
God always protects what’s His. And that’s what my dad has always done
for me.
My relationship with my dad isn’t perfect, but I’ve always known that he wants what’s best for me. He has a gentle, but strong, nature that has shielded me in hard times and comforted me when everything in life hurt. He’s always done his best to take care of me. He may have never gotten around to building that treehouse he had promised, but he was present at nearly all my track meets and cheered me on. He always told me I was a winner, even when I didn’t believe him. Because of him, it’s easier for me to believe that God loves me.
Fathers are very important in our lives, but unfortunately, many of them don’t stick around. Let’s cheer on the ones who do! Show some appreciation to the dads in your life this week and remember that God the Father loves you even more than your earthly dad ever could.
