Dear Jackson

Dear Jackson,

My son, I am your father. I conceived you in love with your mom and I witnessed your growth in her tummy. You brought us so much joy then as you do now, kicking and squirming and hiccuping. When you decided to leave the warmth of your cocoon I caught your head and cradled you. I witnessed your first breath and scream and tremblingly handed you to your mom, the woman who so lovingly cared for you in her womb and brought you into this world with much strain and pain.

My son, I am your provider. I will sacrifice my own needs to meet yours. I provide you with my name, which is my reputation, and I pledge to live above reproach and continue to become conformed into the image of Jesus so that you will see God in our home and desire to be like Him, too. I will hold our family together by placing God at the head and loving and serving your mom that our marriage may be strong to support you. I will pass on the wisdom that my father gave me. I will lead our family to impact the world for Christ and I dream that you will one day become a spiritual leader for you own family so that every generation to follow will seek God’s Kingdom first over all.

My son, I am your protector. As an infant you are fragile and needy. One day I may be fragile and needy and I hope you will take care of me. I will protect you from harm and from the pressures of this world. I will teach you how to think and to digest everything that goes in your eyes and ears and filter out the lies of this world using the Truth of God’s Word. I will protect my marriage so that you will seek the same and will avoid the pain of unhealthy relationships.

My son, I am your priest. I will daily intercede for you to the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I pray for your relationships, your education, your future wife and children and your opportunities to serve others with good works to the glory of God. I will pray with you that you may learn how to talk with your Creator. I pray that you will fear the Lord your God at an early age and that, with childlike faith and the intellect God has given you, you will become confident in the truth of God’s Word and share it joyfully.

My son, I am your prophet. I will teach you the difference between right and wrong and how to live with a clean conscience. I will teach you the Scriptures that you may know God’s love letter to you and I will teach you how to hear the Spirit of the Lord when he speaks that you may follow Him all the days of your life.

My son, I am your professor. I will teach you the wonders of this marvelous world that we live in. I will teach you to work hard, to play hard, to honor the sanctity of sex, to seek purity and integrity and to lead a life of selflessness and generosity, that you will not hoard your blessings but share them. We will explore the universe together and discover the wonders of science and math and art together. My fridge will display all your creations. And you will teach me again and again, through the mind of a curious, innocent, imaginative and loving child, how marvelous is our God and the world He has created.

My son, I am your pal. There will be times when my job is that of a disciplining parent, but there will be times when we can be best friends. We will go camping together, I will be at many of your ball games and I will teach you to ride a motorcycle and fly an RC glider. I will treasure the memories of the times I spend with you that we may always share and remember the life God has given us together.

As God has adopted me into His family and loved me before I was capable of loving him, I too love you before you are able to love me. While I may disappoint God at times, although He chooses to only see the best of His Son Jesus in me, and I know that you will disappoint me at times, I choose to love you unconditionally for as long as I live. You are my family and I cannot stop loving you and seeking the best for you. You are my son!

Love, Dad