I love being a dad.  Might be the best thing ever and the hardest thing ever at the same time.

I have three sons. ¬†Tomorrow, my oldest starts third grade and my second starts kindergarten. ¬†That’s my third son in the picture. ¬†He’s got a few years yet. ¬†My boys are the apple of my eye. ¬†Each of these guys is a deep ocean of personality. ¬†Their waters, brimming with life, are filled by the Creator Himself. ¬†Their waves of words and creativity wash over my wife and I from dawn till dusk like warm breakers on a weathered shore.

But that’s the hard thing too. ¬†These deep oceans of personality are mine to travel, mine to discover. ¬†I set sail and then I dive. ¬†I decipher their currents, and I direct their courses. ¬†This is the wildest and most demanding expedition on earth. ¬†Even their sweet little waves that break against my shore are constantly taking pieces of me with them wherever they go. ¬†This is the real deal. ¬†This is fatherhood. ¬†And it could be the best thing and the hardest thing ever at the same time.

I think God likes it that way.  I think He wants us to remember that all of human history, and all of space and time, is centered around a Father-Son relationship.

Sadly, not everyone likes to see things that way though. ¬†I recently read a blog post in which a new book was being promoted. ¬†The book is about the fatherless crisis in our culture and how to bring the hope of the Heavenly Father to a generation that has been let down by no-show dads. ¬†Sounds awesome. ¬†So I pre-ordered the book. ¬†Then I scrolled down to read what people were saying in their responses to the post. ¬†So many heartbreaking stories. ¬†I couldn’t stop thinking of Psalm 27:10 – “For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.”

Suddenly one response caught my eye. ¬†I instantly felt a different kind of heartbreak. ¬†Someone by the name of “Xtine” was actually trying to dismantle the reality and value of biblical fatherhood. ¬†She didn’t like fatherlessness being called a crisis. ¬†She felt like one mom or two dads are just as fine. ¬†She even went so far as to say, “I would suggest that fathers, scientifically speaking, are not necessary beyond the initial inception.” ¬†I had to chime in. ¬†Not because I am one. ¬†But because a Father gave up His beloved Son to rescue humanity and rise from the dead so that the Son would ultimately return to the Father’s right hand and reign over all the cosmos in submission to His Father forever. ¬†You can read the full post in context¬†here if you like.

Of course, we all know there are tons of single parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and friends out there victoriously raising future US presidential candidates. ¬†We wholeheartedly applaud their labors of love. ¬†Parenting is a tough job, and somebody’s gotta do it. ¬†Obviously, this isn’t about single parenthood. ¬†This is about humanity upholding a biblical worldview. ¬†The only real worldview. ¬†So to Xtine and others who share her fairly new perspective, something needs to be said.

I‚Äôm convinced that Xtine‚Äôs suggestion that fathers are unnecessary beyond inception stands in hollow defiance against… (1) the real-life situations of many we personally know and love, (2) the big picture reality of the historic human demographic, and not to mention (3) the culturally-transcendant, millenia-tested biblical model of fatherhood spelled out for us by Jesus Himself in the eyewitness accounts about his relationship with his own Father.

I suppose, “scientifically speaking”, no one needs anything from a father other than his sperm (or, for that matter, anything from a mother other than her egg and abdomen for 40 weeks) in order to be alive and grow and become somebody someday. ¬†But to stand on such low ground and try to shout up into higher conversations about human relationship, stewardship, and worship is, simply put, to chase the wind. ¬†Thankfully for us all, being human is more than a scientific progression. ¬†It is the divine project. ¬†Created in the image of deity. ¬†Called to fill creation with divine relationship and expression. ¬†Having been granted the divine image, it’s now our unique privilege to express divine relation and exchange.

It’s amazing to me – out of the countless perspectives on humanity, the highest perspective of them all ends up being the reality. ¬†God will heal and renew the whole universe in order to provide a massive framework in which He will heal and renew humanity for Himself, starting with His Son and ending with sons and daughters from every tribe and tongue. ¬†This is a completely relationally-driven cosmos-wide redemption. ¬†And the best part for us now (this is serious reason for celebration!) is that we are called by the Redeemer Himself to reflect His massive redemptive story into our homes, through our own stories. ¬†Neither fatherhood, motherhood, heterosexual parenthood, nor biological or adopted sonhood or daughterhood are mere incidental or interchangeable cultural suggestions. ¬†They are earthly orders of heavenly realities. ¬†Humanity finds its niche within the framework of God’s Word. ¬†When fathers love their children, a flash of heaven’s light hits planet earth. ¬†It’s probably the best thing ever and the hardest thing ever at the same time. ¬†I love being a dad.

So old Roman coins are kind of like iPhones. ¬†Well not anymore. ¬†But to the citizens of ancient Roman colonies, they were pretty awesome. ¬†Having them in your pocket meant you were “connected”. ¬†Whipping them out in public was a clear statement of your cultural savviness. ¬†Of course there were other ways to buy stuff like bartering and such. ¬†But simply put, possession of Caesar’s coins was to side with the awesome populace of humanity.

Ok, this isn’t a post about Apple products at all really. ¬†That would be the last thing the blogosphere needs aside from another rant about what white people like or why famous authors are mad at the church. ¬†This is about being human.

In the first century, the trend went something like this: be a Roman citizen, hoard and spend Roman money, and – bam – you’re a first class human being. ¬†All others were second rate. ¬†It was a worldview that people would literally buy into. ¬†The humanistic Caesar agenda was working. ¬†Even in Israel.

Enter Jesus. ¬†Seen from his world’s eyes, he was a homeless, self-proclaimed Jewish Messiah who didn’t seem to care either way about Caesar or his coins. ¬†Taught a lot about a kingdom. ¬†Backed up his statements by performing outlandish signs. ¬†Gave special attention to women and children in a male-chauvinist society. ¬†Embraced the wicked. ¬†Argued with the righteous. ¬†Commanded people to love the bad guys. ¬†Looked forward to being killed by the good guys. ¬†Confused lots of folks with talk of coming back to life. ¬†But for whatever reason, he was getting super popular. ¬†So popular in fact, that the local politicians had to do something about it. ¬†And they went for the jugular.

Politicians: “Should we pay taxes to Caesar or not?”

Clever. ¬†A classic political move. ¬†They were trying split up Jesus’ fans into two groups: pro-Caesar and anti-Caesar. ¬†That way, people would stop following this Jesus and start debating about coins. ¬†But this was Jesus they were messing with.

Jesus: “Why put me to the test? ¬†Bring me a denarius and let me look at it.”

So they brought Jesus one of those coins.  To the pious conservatives looking on, it was a pagan symbol of darkness.  To the progressive liberals it represented a new wave of human enlightenment.  Everyone stood breathless.  No one expected what happened next.

Jesus: “Whose likeness and inscription is this?”

Politicians: “Caesar’s.”

Jesus: “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”

I often hear this quote around April 15th. ¬†Preachers use it to teach about paying taxes. ¬†Sure that’s part of it, but I don’t think that’s Jesus’ point. ¬†It’s way bigger than that. ¬†Like way bigger. ¬†Jesus wasn’t teaching a lesson about the ethics of taxpaying. ¬†Jesus was drawing attention to the coin. ¬†Specifically, the image on the coin. ¬†It was Caesar’s face. ¬†So give him his coin. ¬†Jesus didn’t care. ¬†Spend them. ¬†Collect them. ¬†Pay taxes with them. ¬†It didn’t matter. ¬†Jesus didn’t buy into the humanistic Caesar agenda for a second. ¬†It’s a coin with a face stamped on it. ¬†Jesus had his own agenda.

Eternity is unpacked for us with that last sentence of his. ¬†Sure, let Caesar have what bears his image. ¬†But infinitely more importantly, let God have what bears His. When we get this straight, the stars shine brighter and the universe falls into place. ¬†All the cool stuff that made the world go around suddenly amounts to the mere flicker of a candle out-shined by the morning sunrise. ¬†Worldliness gives way to worship. ¬†Here is the human project. ¬†We are God’s image bearers. ¬†And he wants us back. ¬†Let’s lead humanity into his possession.