I went to a Jason Upton concert over the weekend. He talked a lot about his little boy and sang, “I don’t know how to be a father.”

Who does? Once the Lord told me, “This is a fatherless generation.” If you look at the stats, you see that more than half the dads are AWOL.

One of my children wrote a screen saver for my computer: “I love you daddy.” It reminds me of the special relationship I have with my children. All their lives I’ve been their protector, friend and counselor. I know them better than they know themselves. I sacrifice for them. I help them navigate the tricky parts of their lives.

So when we talk about being a spiritual father, we call up images that resonate in the chambers of our hearts. Paul says, “Even though you have ten thousand guardians in Christ, you do not have many fathers.” (1 Cor. 4:15)

A while back God spoke to me (it sounds like He speaks to me a lot, but mostly I’m frustrated He doesn’t speak more) and said, “You can either be a manager or a father, you choose.”

I said, “Lord, I want to be a father.” With Upton, I’m still learning how to do that.