Fatherhood should imbue heavenly Father’s care

The Kendrick Brothers have made a name for themselves producing quality faith-based family dramas such as Facing the Giants, Fireproof, Overcomer, and War Room. In Show Me the Father, they depart from that format with a documentary about the indispensable role of fathers — biological fathers, adoptive fathers, father figures, and our Father in heaven.

God the Father, naturally, is the perfect model of fatherhood, one that men must seek to imitate in their relationships with their own children and those who look up to them. Yet many men fail to embrace this vital mission, falling instead into patterns of addiction, self-absorption, abuse, and outright abandonment. Their offspring suffer this failure most: the film notes that 90 percent of homeless and runaway children and 85 percent of children with behavioral disorders come from fatherless homes.

Show Me the Father reveals the true stories of several men who had flawed human fathers but found solace in the Heavenly Father, and thereby became loving fathers or father figures themselves. Sherman Smith, a former NFL player who coached at both the collegiate and professional levels, was mentored by a father figure and later assumed a similar role with players in his charge, including Heisman winner and NFL star Eddie George.

Focus on the Family president Jim Daly recalls growing up with an alcoholic and abusive father but later being introduced to God the Father by his own high school football coach. Stephen Kendrick tells of his father’s positive example and his personal experience in adopting a toddler from China with serious medical issues. And Deland McCullough, a mentee of Smith’s whose promising NFL career was cut short by injury, relates his search for a biological father he never knew.

By their flaws, earthly fathers “crack the mirror,” obscuring the image of the Heavenly Father they are supposed to reflect. Show Me the Father urges men to take to heart their vocation to fatherhood, so that they can more closely reveal the Father’s perfect love.

GERALD KORSON is a Legatus magazine editorial consultant and staff writer.