The Joy of Becoming a Dad

THE FEARLESS FATHER

There was a time that I had little value for life, especially the life of a baby or a child. I thought abortion was no big deal and I didn’t care if I ever became a father. The thought of me being a father and having someone’s life in my hands scared me.

One day God spoke to me and said, “You don’t like who you are. You don’t think you have anything to offer a child.”

I didn’t have to think about this long because I knew it was true. I never liked who I thought I was, and I struggled with drugs, alcohol and sex-addictive behaviors in my not-so-distant past. My identity was based on my sin, not on who God said I am. So I went after truth. I started embracing the role of spiritual father, though I still wasn’t sure I had what it took to become a father of my own child -- until I had an amazing encounter during worship one night.

"My identity was based on my sin, not on who God said I am."

I was laid out on the pulpit and all the children in the church came up and sat around me even sat on my lap. In that moment, God spoke to me and said, “You are ready to be a father, not just a spiritual father.” I immediately received my role as a father into my heart. Less than two weeks later, my wife got pregnant. As I watched my little baby grow inside her, my father-heart started to explode. I started to understand for the first time the value of life and how I was made to protect it. Now that I’ve watched my little girl grow inside my wife, abortion takes on a whole new meaning. It was very clear to me that life began the day of conception and that’s the day I became a father.

-- Jason, 37, Indiana