Scripture reading: Genesis 18:16–21

Thanks, Dad!

And he (Elijah) will turn the hearts of fathers to their children and the hearts of children to their fathers, lest I come and strike the land with a decree of utter destruction. (Malachi 4:6)

I must have been about nine years old. Dad and I had been fishing, and we were driving home alone on a hot summer night. I can’t remember how many fish I caught that day, but I do remember the conversation in the car. Daddy was a preacher. He could talk about anything to anyone at any time! But tonight, he was uncharacteristically nervous. It made me wonder if Mom had put him up to it.

“Son,” he began, “Little boys and little girls are different. Have you noticed?”

Had I noticed? Well, I knew that Paula Hobbs could run faster than any boy in the school. And I knew that Agatha Pate was smarter than all the rest of the boys in our class combined. And I knew that Lee-Jean Suggs was the tallest person in our class. And I knew that girls wore dresses and liked to play with dolls. Yuk!

Dad thanked me for my observations but said that he was talking about other kinds of “differences.” He was really nervous now.

“What do you mean, Daddy?”

Mustering all the courage he had, he got straight to the point. “Son, do you know where babies come from?”

“The hospital?”

Needless to say, it was a long ride home. Dad struggled to get it all out. His speech was full of euphemistic language about birds and bees and moms and dads and private moments. But by the time we arrived home, I knew things that I had never dreamed of!

Thanks Dad. I’m so glad I learned about the facts of life first from you. I’m so grateful that you began to shape my thinking about human sexuality before those boys in the locker room did with that dirty magazine. I am so glad that you introduced me to the mysteries of male and female before the hormones of adolescence kicked into full gear. Thanks for telling me that God is the one who created boys and girls to be so different, and that he pronounced it “good.” And thanks especially for modeling a marriage that for 65 years has been a picture of romance, love and faithfulness. Thanks Dad. I really mean it.

Three marks of a godly father: 1) He walks a good path in the sight of his son, to let him know, ‘It can be done.’ 2) He occasionally turns around and looks at his son to let him know, ‘You’re not alone.’ 3) He resumes his walk toward God, trusting God to lead his son to follow, thus saying, ‘I believe in you.’”
—Larry Crabb

point to ponder • If fathers don’t tell their sons about the facts of life,
someone else will.

prayer focus • Fathers.