My dad is a know-it-all — in history, especially naval and American history; in politics; in random facts spanning from space exploration and “Star Wars” lore to bird calls and poems like “The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.”
I credit my dad with giving me excellent taste in music, from Wagner and Holst to soundtrack composer Basil Poledouris. I also credit him for my excellent taste in movies like “Lawrence of Arabia,” “Doctor Zhivago,” “Spartacus,” and of course, “The Lord of the Rings” trilogy, to name just a few.
Not to mention my dad can fix just about anything. With a lifelong career in construction project management, my dad’s knowledge of tools, equipment and building seems infinite.
All this points to one thing: my dad is a lifelong learner. He tells me something new every time I see him, some fact I didn’t realize I needed.
If I saw some prickly creature crawling on my leg while playing in the backyard as a kid, my dad would rush over before I started to scream and say something like, “Oh, no, it won’t hurt you. Look, look, look. It’s just a garden spider. They’re a good bug.”
Whenever I got scared, my dad was there to reason away the fear with knowledge he drew from various wells.
Growing up, I remember the three heavy, leather-bound tomes on my dad’s nightstand: the complete works of Shakespeare, Edgar Allan Poe’s poems and short stories, and the complete works of H.P. Lovecraft (one of my dad’s personal favorites). Holding them in my childish hands, I knew there was a world filled with knowledge and deep conversations to be had.
There to guide
Although I knew at the time I wasn’t quite ready for it all, my dad was there to guide me.
I realized that if my earthly father was a fount of so much wisdom and knowledge, how much truer is that of our Heavenly Father?
In Ephesians 1, Paul’s prayer for the Church is “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him.”
As we grow as Christians, we must grow in knowledge of God. He wants us to constantly strive toward more knowledge of Him, His Word, and His promises. When we do, we become comforted in that deeper understanding of Him. Proverbs 1:7 affirms it: “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.”
In Romans 1:20, it says the Heavenly Father’s knowledge is revealed everywhere. “For the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made…”
Like my father encouraged me to learn, God gave us His Word and His creation in which to learn more about Him — from snowy mountain tops to green valleys and streams; from gigantic redwoods to the intricate swirl of a rose; from coffee shop conversations with friends to fireside chats with loved ones; from the liturgy in an ancient cathedral to the quiet peace in a one-room church.
Meant to learn
Though all that does not capture even a glimmer of the true majesty of God, we as humans are meant to learn and to grow and to “love the Lord our God with all our…mind” (Matthew 22:37).
I will forever strive to be knowledgeable like my dad, to tell stories the way he does and to one day pass my knowledge on to my children, hopefully encouraging in them a love of lifelong learning.
This Father’s Day, if you can, tell your dad thanks for passing along so much knowledge to you. Then, take a moment to say thanks to your Heavenly Father for revealing Himself and His world to you.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Zoë Watkins is a communications specialist for the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board.
