For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him. —Colossians 1:19
Is anything in all the world more wonderful than being a dad? I don’t think so. In fact, God knows just how we feel.
In January 1985, my late wife called my office with news about our daughter. “Missy wants to leave Harpeth Hall and transfer to Brentwood Academy.” She paused and spoke again, letting me know that she was in a serious conundrum. “I hate to have her make the change midyear, but she really wants to go.”
Less than a year before we had moved to Nashville, and we were having a hard time finding a school where Missy was comfortable. Although I desperately wanted my daughter to learn the virtue of tenacity and sticking to it, I decided that this probably wasn’t the time to teach a lesson. I acquiesced.
That day Bobbie withdrew our eighth-grade daughter from one school and drove her to another where she knew no one. When they walked into the school, Missy discovered that tryouts for the spring play were happening that day. Even though she had never been in a dramatic production in her life, she knew this would be a great way to meet new friends. So she tried out for the play, securing a spot in the chorus. When I heard about this accomplishment, I couldn’t have been prouder. Being a dad is something special.
Three years later, our second daughter decided to try out for the junior high cheerleading squad. Because of some serious problems with her leg at birth, we had been warned that this little one would not walk on schedule, if she would ever walk. Fortunately, Julie was too young to understand what these doctors were telling her mom and dad, so she walked right on time. Now, because of her limitations, we warned her that some of those kicks and dance steps would be impossible to execute.
True to form and not to be dissuaded from her dreams, Julie tried out. She was a cheerleader for the next five years. And once again, I discovered that being a dad is something special.
We know the challenge of filling this role of dad in our children’s lives. We know how much work it is to be a good dad, and they know the rigors of pleasing us. But above these important tasks, we know full well the spectacular joy that comes along with just being a dad, of having a child of our own. This is awesome.
God was proud of His Son, with good reason. There may not be a more vivid de- scription of who Jesus is than the text we read today. Here we have a thorough list of His matchless qualifications and traits. He is the firstborn, the Creator, eternally existent, the glue who holds all things together, the Master of every believer, the One who conquered death, and the great Reconciler of all people.
So God “was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in [Jesus]” (v. 19). God’s supreme and exquisite Son got His Father’s full blessing, eternally sharing the same infinite fullness of the divine nature yet also, in space and time, becoming human.
As dads we understand just a tiny bit of what God the Father must have been thinking with respect to what His Son accomplished in His incarnate state. “This is My very own child,” He was saying. “Well done, My Son.”
Nothing is more wonderful than being a dad. God knows just how we feel.