After tucking three-year-old Jimmy into bed, his parents heard sobbing coming from his bedroom. Rushing back in, they found their son crying hysterically. After they calmed him down a bit, Jimmy managed to tell them what had heppened. He said he had swallowed a penny and was afraid he would die. His parents were unable to console him with their words.
Jimmy’s dad jumped into action. Palming a penny from his pocket, he pretended to pull it from Jimmy’s ear. Jimmy was delighted.
Then Jimmy snatched the penny from his father’s hand and swallowed it. He cheerfully demanded, “Do it again, Dad!”
In an instant, Dad had become his son’s hero. That’s how it is when our sons are young. But as they mature, in many cases, they become our heroes.
Walter Schirra, Mercury astronaut, said it like this: “You don’t raise heroes, you raise sons. And if you treat them like sons, they’ll turn out to be heroes, even if it’s just in your own eyes.”
So if you’re a father, how do you turn your sons into your heroes? I suggest three things.
- Live with them transparently.
- Encourage them passionately.
- Pray for them daily.
Recovery Step: “The father of a righteous child has great joy” (Proverbs 23:24). Live your life in such a way that sets up your children to be who you should be yourself.
