Like Your Father
Last night I had the privilege of seeing Rhett Walker in concert at The Mulehouse here in Columbia, TN. Admittedly, I didn’t know much about Rhett before last night. (Rhett is the one in the cowboy hat). I had heard his name, but couldn’t tell you any of his songs. But my good friend Taft Ayers from WayFM offered me some free tickets to take a group of young adults, and I love live music, so we went. I was impressed with Rhett’s style and sound. I like a wide variety of music. But what really grabbed my attention was Rhett’s honesty and humility. It was evident and it wasn’t a bit showy. His testimony was powerful and his love for Jesus comes through in every song he sings.
About midway through his first set, he did a song he wrote called Like Your Father Does. He wrote the song soon after he became a father for the first time. The message is clear. As a father, he loves his children like no one else on earth (with he exception of his wife). However, even though the love of a parent is strong, it doesn’t compare to the love that our Father has for us. As a parent myself, that’s hard to imagine. Yet I know it’s true.
This morning while I was working out, this particular song came through my AirPods. The lyrics hit me harder this time than they did when I first heard it. As I mentioned above, I am a father myself. I have two sons that are now young adults. (26 & 22 as of this writing). They are as different from each other as two brothers could be yet I cannot imagine my life without them. It’s no secret, I’ve not been the perfect father. I have let them down too many times and in too many ways to explain. Yet I could not imagine being any more prouder of them or loving either of them any more than I already do. However, my love for them does not compare or even come close to how much God loves them! He is the perfect Father! There is a line in the song that states, “Wherever you go, whatever you do, I want you to know there’s nothing to prove. I’ve always loved you.” That’s how my love for them is and most importantly, that’s how God love them.
One week from tomorrow, December 11, 2021, my oldest son Stephen will marry the young lady that God has created for him. To say that I am proud doesn’t scratch the surface. Yes we have groaned a bit about how weddings these days are very different then when his mother and I got married in 1993. But, at the end of the day, the result will be the same. They will be husband and wife and God will be honored. (I would post a picture of the happy couple but I can’t figure out how to post 2 pictures in the same blog post!) I may not be the happiest person there that day, but there will be no one more happy or more proud. And even though I cannot imagine loving Stephen and his wife Sunny any more than I already do, it doesn’t come close to loving them the way that Their Father Does!
