The Father’s Actual Response
Tomorrow is Father’s Day, and we love celebrating the many young fathers we serve at our centers!
When a young man finds out at our center that he’s a new dad, we’ll often give him a
“new dad” gift. It’s a candy bar and a little book by John Eldridge called You Have What it Takes. The book is simple and to the point, and it’s so powerful for our young dad clients. Many of them had fathers who were not present or perhaps not a positive role model for them while they were growing up.
Sometimes the dads say things like “Well, I’m not a dad yet…” But we’re pretty quick to say, “You ARE a dad, my friend. The baby is there, he just hasn’t been born yet.”
Sometimes, our young dad clients think God is mad at them for the things that they’ve done. We show them scripture and help them see that’s not what the Bible reveals as God’s response when we return to Him. Listen to Luke 15:20, which says, “So he (the prodigal son) got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
What a picture of a father’s love for his son! And what a picture of our Heavenly Father’s desire to be in close relationship with our young dad clients… and with you and me. Happy Father’s Day to each one of you whom God has blessed to be a father!