I was thinking about arrows today. Not the space-age sort hunters use nowadays. Not even the makeshift ones my buddies used to shoot at squirrels and birds when we were kids. No, I was thinking about the kind used in ancient warfare, maybe 300, 400 B.C. And I was thinking about my daughters.

I tried to picture myself in the place of an ancient warrior, standing among hundreds, perhaps thousands of fellow archers as we waited for the call from our leader to release our volley. I recalled Hollywood mock-ups like those in the movies “300″ and “The Two Towers”. Though not exactly representing the 300 B.C. era, they both have scenes that stick out…an archer releases his arrow amidst thousands of others and it flies off into the world of the enemy. Once the arrow is released, the archer no longer controls it. Whether or not its effective depends mostly on how well the archer prepared it.

In rich, poetic wisdom literature, the Bible reads:

Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord,
the fruit of the womb a reward.
Like arrows in the hand of a warrior
are the children of one’s youth.

Arrows. That’s the metaphor. Huh. Interesting that its not a sword. After all, swords were more accurate and typically more deadly than arrows. With a sword you can look your foe in the eye and control every move of your weapon. But no, children are not swords. They are arrows.

What happens when you raise swords? You control them. You never really send them anywhere, after all, they can’t do anything apart from your wielding them. Not so with arrows. You shape and sharpen arrows. When the day comes, you launch them out. They need your help to be released, but once sent they fly and penetrate based largely on their preparation. But the warrior is no longer wielding them.

I often think of the day, Lord willing, when my daughters will be released. I long for it and dread it all at once. I dread it because my time of intimacy with them, seeing them daily and being an integral part of their lives will be over. I will forever influence them and I pray I will have their love always. But my days of closeness are waning even now. Yet, I long for those days because I long to see them fly in the wisdom, grace, and justice of Yahweh.

There is a day of release coming for your children. Are you preparing them for it? Providing money and stuff does not prepare them. Getting them into the best Ft. Bend County schools does not prepare them. Taking them to your contextualized church does not prepare them. No, teaching them to love Jesus with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength is what prepares them. They learn it best from fathers who do the same.

Love your children by preparing them. To that end, happy father’s day.