The one surefire way to be a better dad no matter what.

Is this a safe place? Can I share one of my biggest fears with you? You didn’t ask, but here goes nothing. I wonder if my kids “see enough Jesus” through me. I work from home. So, I’m home all. of. the. time. My kids see me—mostly staring at a laptop blogging for you guys! ; ) They have no real clue what I do. Ask them. They’d say, “Dad stares at his laptop, does a lot of video calls, and drinks a lot of coffee.”

When I think about it, part of me wants to be the guy who reads his Bible—making sure his kids see him reading it. But, just as I start going online to purchase the largest Bible I can find, this wild verse from Matthew pops up in my life. Let’s look at this verse and see what God might have for us. Keep that Family Bible in your online cart a few more minutes.

“…even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” —Matthew 20:28 (ESV)

Here’s the thing: it’s easy to get carried away with all of the to-do list and miss the point—maybe that’s just me talkin’. There’s basically endless ways you can mess up as a dad. You might not pray as you ought to. You might not show love to our wife. You might have expectations you don’t clearly communicate, and when your kids don’t live up to them you get all up in their business and give them a lecture about serving others. I mean, I’ve never done this—but I’ve heard stories from other dads! : )

On the flip side, there doesn’t seem to be endless ways to win as a dad. Here’s what I want to do. I want to show you one way you can show Jesus in your home—short of carrying a Family Bible around the house. This will take remembering something and then doing something. Let’s rock…then roll.

Be a better dad by remembering this.

Stay in chapter 20 of Matthew with me. Just look back a bit and you’ll find Jesus talking to His disciples about the last being first and the first being last. Remember the story Jesus told? There were workers who got hired to do a job—the workers hired first worked longer than the ones hired last. At pay time, all of the workers were payed equally—no matter how long they had worked. What the heck? UNFAIR! What’s the point Jesus—you might yell at your big Bible.

Apparently, from the story, the point is that God’s grace is amazing—it goes beyond human comprehension. Jesus was doing what Jesus did—telling an earthly story that pointed to a heavenly reality. The point that it’s not fair—get this—is THE POINT! God’s grace is unfair. Said better, God’s grace is unmerited. His grace and mercy cannot be earn. We aren’t good enough—EVER. God doesn’t owe us anything—yet offers us everything. Boom. Grace. Repent and believe today. Go and sin no more. The end.

Just like us today, the disciples didn’t really understand Jesus very much—until after the fact. There’s another story or two in Matthew 20—but for time’s sake—let’s move to verse 28. Jesus tells His disciples, “even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus reveals two things in this verse that we should remember as dads:

#1 Jesus came to serve. The reference  of “the Son of Man” points to Jesus being human—flesh and bone. Jesus referred to Himself a lot by this title. He walked in our shoes here on earth and He served. In this life, we are here to serve. We are to be like Jesus, remember. Whether in good times or bad—we are to serve God and others. Doing these two things—serving God and others—basically covers all of the 10 commandments. Bam.

#2 Jesus came to save. Save is what’s happening when Jesus talks about giving His life as “a ransom for many.” Today, we might consider using the word “ransom” like a hostage situation in a Hollywood movie. Point is, we are dead in sin—but Christ frees us. Praise God that Jesus came to save. Put this in your mind: Jesus came to save you, your wife, your kids, and anyone who might have eyes to see. Are you still annoy about your kid not doing the dishes? Me too. Let’s keep talkin’.