Monday Morning Manna: Being Called Dad

I have been called by many titles. Some of my titles have come by position – Pastor, Director, Consultant, Professor; some by achievement – teammate, colleague, author; some by relationship – son, grandson, nephew, cousin, brother, husband. Next Sunday, when much of the world acknowledges Father’s Day, I will thrill to my greatest title – Dad. Fatherhood is a mixed bag, a roller coaster of adventure. The worst days are when you do or say something that embarrasses or disappoints your children. The best days are when your children are proud of you and show you. Most father’s have experienced both kinds of days and are happy when the scale tips toward the latter, when they can say with the Apostle John, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth” (3 John 1:4). I would give much of what I have to be able to wish a Happy Father’s Day again to the one who helped me see how to “walk in truth,” but my Dad is beyond the hearing my voice. My children, Danna Crawford Presbaugh and James Crawford, are grown beyond my influence, but I pray they continue to “walk in truth” as they have done thus far. Former professional athlete, Wade Boggs, said, “Anyone can be a Father, but it takes someone special to be a Dad.” That was true of my Dad, and I’m still trying to make it true of me. Call me by whatever title the circumstances allow, but I will stand tallest and proudest, when I am called, Dad.

Dr. Dan Crawford, Senior Professor at Southwestern Baptist Seminary, is the WestCoast Baptist Association’s Spiritual Life & Leadership Mentor. Follow Dan on Twitter @DrDanRC and Facebook www.facebook.com/dan.crawford.