Displaying items by tag: dadvocates

by Jor-El Godsey, President of Heartbeat International

Boys will be boys. I know this because I have two of them.

And I am still one. You’d know this because of my natural inclination to turn a wrapping paper tube into a sword. Maybe even a lightsaber if I add the appropriate sound effects.

My sons do the same thing. My daughter, not so much.

But just as boys have a natural inclination to fashion ordinary items into imaginary weapons, so has God written on their hearts the call to provide and protect. Unfortunately, our culture has done all it can to distract from this call and delay manhood. Even worse has been the intentional redefinition of manhood into perpetual adolescence, something that would be wholly unfamiliar to the generations that preceded us.

Many men wear a façade of casual disregard. This is what we might see most in our pregnancy help effort. If we’re not careful, we’ll be tempted to disregard him from the equation too quickly. Fortunately, we’ve seen active programming for men grow by 6% in the last two years.  Advocating for these men to be the dads God has called them to be, or being a “Dadvocate,” should be part of the fabric of our work.  Whether he responds or not, we should lean into what we know the Holy Spirit is doing – calling him to be part of the life he created.

After all, this is what our Father God does. He actively creates and looks to perform His Word. In John 10:10, Jesus tells us, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” This is a very familiar passage and a great theme that contrasts the work of the devil with the work of our Messiah.

Yet, if you read the entire chapter of John 10, you’ll see how the theme of the Father and Jesus as one is in play. This is the chapter where He says, “I and the Father are one” (v. 30), a statement that so angered those listening that they picked up stones to stone Him.

Yes, the world today is angered by the work of the Father.

But take heart, your work advocating for dads is a work of the Father Himself. Not all will listen, but those who do will join the work of the God of the Universe. And you will rejoice seeing the work of the great Dadvocate!