Passion is unmistakable. We’ve all been around that person who exudes enthusiasm.
The professor’s eyes light up as she hits the sweet spot in her lecture. The pastor sets down his notes in the middle of his sermon and begins to speak from a place that he hadn’t even planned to speak from. The student shares their dreams and ideas with you, unfazed by the daunting world ahead of them. Here’s what makes a great dad—it’s the one thing your kids will never forget about you.
What Makes a Great Dad
It’s the moment where the communication goes deeper than words and begins to hit your soul.
You never have to convince someone what you’re passionate about, they simply see it.
My best friend is a carpenter. He’s been building things since he was a young boy. It’s in his blood. He learned from his dad; a humble man’s-man who spent his entire life working with his hands. If you asked my friend what his dad was most passionate about, he wouldn’t hesitate in his answer.
“Jesus.” He’d tell you.
My friend’s dad spent the majority of his life working a normal job as a contractor, but he left no question in his kids’ mind what was most important to him. He didn’t have to try and convince his family what mattered most to him, it was obvious.
It was obvious as my friend would climb out of bed as a young boy and walk into the living room to find his dad laying on his face and praying out loud to God first thing in the morning.
It was obvious when he watched his dad give the last of his money to another co-worker who was struggling to get groceries for his family.
It was obvious at the end of a long workday when he would look across the job site and see his dad in tears as he shared the grace of Jesus with a guy who had lost all hope.
A few years ago I was attending the wedding of this same best friend I’ve been telling you about. During the reception, my buddy’s dad walked up to me and thanked me for coming to the wedding. I kid you not, within five minutes of our conversation he had somehow shifted it back to Jesus. He wasn’t preaching at me, by any means. He simply couldn’t help but get choked up as talked about how God had saved such a broken man like himself. Decades later and he was still in awe of God’s grace.
Like my friend, I knew immediately what mattered most to his father. Even on his son’s wedding day, there was something bigger worth celebrating in his heart.
Parents, we can spend our entire lives teaching our kids the lessons we’ve gleaned over the years. And we should. But ultimately, they will remember what we were most passionate about. Our words will be forgotten, but our lives will be remembered.
May we never have to convince our kids how much we love Jesus. May they simply see it.
[This post originally appeared at DadTired.]
