Airport-silence was broken by a harried couple with twins. Both toddlers wanted mummy, and daddy looked like he had never spent a single day with them. I saw him harshly slam one tired baby into a hard, plastic chair when she was doing the earthworm move (when frustrated, act like you have no backbone and slide off everything till you are carried securely). More cries followed mummy. On the flight, daddy slept, while both babies tore her and fellow passengers apart. (Read Christobelle Joseph in http://www.bangaloremirror.com/article/74/201307232013072322005812d8be27a7/Travelling-with-tots.html)
I have seen many such dads during my travels and I tell you, I get mad seeing irresponsible dads behaving as if the kids were not theirs! I used to imagine how much more irresponsible they would be inside the four walls of their houses. I always remember with pleasure how my husband used to take care of our hyperactive baby-son, Giffy in many of our long train rides between Chennai and Calcutta back in the nineties. Even now, any alarm he raises at night, he is there with him, the next second. He wins the race between us running to our son’s room. Does that bring to your mind the many times, God taking care of us and responding to us during a crisis? Another great man in my life is my own dad. In my recent episode of undergoing a surgery, me in my forties, he in his seventies, I saw my dad getting alerted and coming near me (here dad won the race between him and my husband!) with my slightest move in bed, during both day and night. With tears in my eyes, I remembered our heavenly father who neither slumbers nor sleeps with regard to the cause of his children.
How can dads become more responsible to their kids? My love for the Bible always takes me to some character in the Bible. Of all dads in the Bible, I love and revere Joseph! Joseph was the foster father of Jesus. He is termed righteous (Matthew 1:19) for many reasons. One is that he accepted his virgin wife who got pregnant mysteriously. But after the angel spoke to him, he gets the right perspective of the baby Jesus. From then on, he executed his responsibility of a responsible dad to baby Jesus, fulfilling every detail. His dad part amazes me more than his role as a husband. Look at the many travels Mary and Joseph had to do for the sake of baby Jesus. Joseph traveled with a full-term Mary from Nazareth to Bethlehem to register for the census (Luke 2:4). After the baby was born, he had to start by night to a distant Egypt with the mother and the baby (Mathew 2:13-14). After some time, he again took the two of them and traveled back to Nazareth (2:20-21). Joseph executed his responsibilities in raising baby Jesus who was not his biological child!
He was also caring for the baby, spiritually. He was with Mary in one accord in bringing up child Jesus according to the Mosaic Law. He accompanied Mary from Bethlehem to Jerusalem to present child Jesus in the temple to offer a sacrifice consisting two young pigeons, the latter meaning he was a poor dad (Luke 2:22-24). Blessed are the poor dads like Joseph who have got great values! Joseph and Mary got baby Jesus, blessed by ministers of God like, Simeon and Anna (2:25-32, 37-38) in the temple. I would say that the spiritual care at home, even as a child, helped Jesus to be in his heavenly Father’s business in the temple (Luke 2:49). Jesus found it easy to obey his righteous dad and mom. No wonder, Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and men (v. 51-52). I would give Joseph, the foster father the highest credit in raising the Saviour of the world. Jesus, whenever he addressed his prayer to God-the father, had a happy picture of a dad who cared for him.
A dad has a great role to makes his child love to call his heavenly, father, “Daddy!” I am not exaggerating when I say that children who are cared for by dads will find it easy to seek God. Blessed with a loving dad who still cares for me and a husband who is a responsible dad for our son, I love to call my God, “Abba, Father, Daddy.”
"I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection" - Sigmund Freud
