Gordon was a skinny, underweight lad of 17 when he talked his mother into signing him up so he could join the Marines. The week he left for "Boot Camp" he was in my office and told me the following. He said he wished for one thing only in this life. And, if he could get his wish, he would never ask for anything else. I asked him what that wish could be. He replied that he wished his dad would tell him to do something just once and then make him do it. He informed me that as far as he could remember, if his dad told him to do something and he, Gordon, did not wish to do it, he just did not do it and dad never corrected him. Gordon furhter voiced his opinion that his dad was a "whimp" because of this attitiude and he, Gordon, never viewed his dad with respect. Gordon added, that if his dad would just once, just once, would tell him to do something and then made Gordon do it, he added, "I would respect my dad for the rest of my life. But, I have no respect for my dad at all-he is a whimp."
Gordon left for the Marines and would call me from time to time after he was settled in at his camp. He was the happiest lad I knew at that time. At long last, he had some direction in his life. What he longed for from his dad was guidance, direction, help. What he silently called out to his dad was, "Dad, you have been down this road of life before me-help me. Show me the does and don’ts. I am a child, I need someone to help guide me, gaurd me from pitfalls, errors, ’Dad, help me!’" Gordon’s dad never heard the silent call of his boy hence, Gordon joined the toughest branch of our Armed Services and was at long last at piece with himself. There were, at last, boundraies for him in which to mature.
Dads, our jobs are hard, but we must be faithful to our children. Joseph, the earthly father of Jesus, had a hard job on his hands to help raise his earthy Son, but he never shrank from his duty and as a result, Jesus praised His earthly father with living out some of the examples that Joseph taught Him while He was growing into manhood.