D-A-D
God the Father
God the Son
God the Holy spirit
Three in one. Living in perfect relationship with distinct purpose and roles - demonstrating spiritual hierarchy, spiritual obedience, spiritual companionship.
God has uniquely designed our existence to allow all experiences in life to teach us about ourselves, our relationship with others, our relationship with God and his relationship with humanity. A close look at the Trinity makes me realize that each person of the Trinity resembles a specific phase of our lives as men. God the Son teaches us what spiritual and earthly sonship should look like; a role which is perfectly exemplified by Jesus. The Holy Spirit, also known as our companion or advocate, teaches us the role of friendship, supporter and interceder for others. God the Father teaches us about parenthood, the role of teaching, disciplining, and nurturing children; as well as the sacrifices we make for them. Each phase of our lives teaches us about each person of the Trinity and helps us understand our earthly role as well as what perfect relationship, as manifested by the Trinity, may look like.
We come to know what is and is not of God through scripture, and also, through His Creation.
The character God the Son is clearer to me because I have been a son. The character of the Holy Spirit makes sense to me because I have been a companion and advocate to others. However, there is a gap in my understanding of God the Father. By the grace of God, I was gifted with a wonderful earthly father so I have been exposed to elite fatherhood, however I have not experienced fatherhood. I cannot claim to know a Father’s love, a Father’s sacrifice, a Father's disappointment nor his satisfaction, a Father’s sorrow nor his joy. However, that all changed on June 21, 2024. I got my first taste of Fatherhood. My son was born.
When my son was born, I felt a deep sense of responsibility while simultaneously realizing I needed tremendous guidance.
In today's society, the role of men is unclear to many. Masculinity is too often questioned, and the distinct need of fatherhood is blurry. Although the impacts of poor fatherhood are rampant in our country, society is leading us to believe fathers aren’t a required variable in a family unit. Men and fathers are facing an identity crisis. God help us.
Scripture tells us that God the Father loves, protects, provides, forgives, corrects, and shows mercy. As image bearers of God, our children should know God's character by the example we set.
Great examples of biblical fatherhood include Noah, Abraham, and Joseph (Jesus’s earthly father). Noah, by his obedience to God, saved his family from the flood. Abraham, through faith and obedience, was willing to go to great lengths to show his dedication to God. Joseph (Jesus’s earthly Father) rose to the seemingly impossible task to father the son of God, Jesus Christ. Each of them faced fear, social pressure, embarrassment, insecurity and doubt, but were faithful and did not allow their uncertainty to shake their obedience.
Book of Kings shows how good fatherhood and leadership can lead a family and kingdom to glory and bad fatherhood to destruction. The Bible clearly demonstrates that Godly obedience leads to flourishing, while disobedience leads to destruction. So if we value the impact we will make on our families, it is our Duty to be obedient to God and not follow our own Desires. In essence - Duty Above Desire or D-A-D.
Duty in this sense is a spiritual call-to-action to fulfill your Godly purpose despite external or internal pleasure, praise, acknowledgements, affection, or gratitude aka Desires.
As a new dad, my understanding of my identity as a father will be sharpened as I learn more about the character of God the Father, lessons from biblical fathers, and the examples I have been exposed to in my own life.
I look forward to the day my son can speak and call me dad. Dad, for me, will take on a new meaning now that I have associated it with Duty Above Desire. In the future when my son calls me dad It will serve as a reminder that I have a Duty to serve God and my family Above all my Desires.
Hopefully at this point the imagery of the logo makes sense.
If you are a Father, believe in the necessary role of fathers, or are simply inspired by this message, please share. Also, please visit our store for D-A-D merch.
