Good Shepherd Lutheran

Dads and Duct Tape
If there’s a sticky job, duct tape can probably take care of it. But duct tape can do one more thing as well. It can teach us lessons about being a great dad.
Lesson #1. Duct tape sticks to the main thing. Duct tape adheres closely to what it was designed to adhere to. A dad’s main purpose is to adhere to Jesus Christ. John 15: 5 tells us, “…apart from me you can do nothing…”
When we separate ourselves from Christ – when we don’t stick with Him – we become dissatisfied. And when we’re dissatisfied, we either become useless and lost, or angry and unbearable. Jesus Christ needs to be front & center always. Philippians 3:14 (MSG) says: “Friends, don’t get me wrong: By no means do I count myself an expert in all of this, but I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward—to Jesus.”
Lesson #2. Duct tape holds things together, and God uses Dads to hold the family together. 1 Timothy 3:4-5 says: 4 He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him, and he must do so in a manner worthy of full respect. 5 (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?)
Lesson #3. Duct tape isn’t a permanent solution. Duct tape fixes things, but it only works temporarily. Eventually, you have to find a permanent solution. A solution like Jesus Christ. Fathers aren’t expected to be everything to everyone. But what they are expected to do is to point themselves and others toward Jesus. Galatians 2:20 says: 20Christ lives in me. The life you see me living is not “mine,” but it is lived by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I am not going to go back on that.
God tells us that there is only one true thing that holds everything together and that’s Jesus Christ. Colossians 1:17 says it this way: 17 He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.
Jesus is the only one who can truly hold everything together in this universe, including us. You dads don’t have to be the duct tape that holds all of creation together. You just need to be the dad – or the disciple – that pleases God, even in your imperfections.
So don’t add more to your burden than what you’ve been given. God doesn’t expect us to shoulder His expectations alone. He gives us the strength and empowerment that we need to do it. You don’t have to be Superman, so, relax. As John 3:30 tells us: He must become greater. I must become less.
The good news is it’s never too late to start being a godly father according to God’s will. Like duct tape, you just have to stick with it.