Dad, "The Idol"
/
My son, Davis (6) and I have a very special relationship. So far, I am going the no-regret-fathering route. I am no perfect Dad, but I try super hard to be very intentional about discipling Davis and teaching him about Jesus. And so far I have no regrets. We often have some pretty stunning conversations about faith and life.
Tonight, after reading some of Exodus together, he asked me: "Dad, do we still have idols today?" I explained to Davis that we certainly do. I told him that an idol is anything in our lives that becomes more important than Jesus. I explained how dangerous it can be. Then, I asked Davis to think about his life and whether he has any idols in his life above Jesus. He thought for a moment and said "no, I don't think so."
About 10 minutes later I stepped outside to get something and he came (after the wheels of his mind and heart had been spinning) and banged on the window to get my attention...."Daddy, daddy. You, Dad, you! I think you could be an idol to me!" He said it with such urgency and revelation. I wish you could have seen his little face. I froze that moment deep in my heart. At least two things significant were happening in that instance this evening:
- He was understanding idolatry in a real way for the first time. At 6.
- And he was expressing his deep love for me as his Father. And of course, that felt great.
Well, I came inside and invited him to lap to finish the teaching moment. I proceeded to explain to him the risk is seeing Daddy as more important than I am. I explained that I wanted to be the best earthly Daddy that I could be. But there is only one perfect Daddy. He is the heavenly Father. And he will never let you down and never disappoint you.
Being a father to this young man has been one of the greatest joys of my life so far. And tonight was one of those precious defining moments.