Like Father, Like Son

Ryan, Kim, Josh, Bud and Jon

We spent the evening at Daniels Park for a double header. It was a beautiful evening for baseball. My dad joined us for the game and then came home with us for pizza. I always enjoy spending time with my dad, especially when it also includes my sons. All we were missing is Jason and the the picture with the Pagel men would be complete.

Have you ever noticed that the older you get the more you resemble your parents in actions, attitudes and even in physical features? This was pressed on me when I visited my dad in Florida one winter. Person after person came up to me and said, "You must be Bud Pagel's son." Now, how did they know? I have even noticed that my voice inflections and mannerism remind me more and more of my father. When did all this begin to happen? I have also noticed that all my boys sound alike. When I call home and one of my sons answers the phone I'm not sure who I am talking to. And then one day I answered the phone and the caller told me that my boys sound just like me!

I'm OK with becoming like my dad. There are a lot of things that I admire about him. He is faithful, consistent, dependable, hard working, takes initiative, and enjoys learning. I hope I can resemble him in these qualities. I'm a little more ambivalent regarding my sons becoming like me. What attitudes, actions and behaviors am I passing on to my sons? What qualities do they see in me that they want to emulate?

But most importantly, as I work on this father thing, am I becoming more like my heavenly Father in my attitudes, actions and behaviors? How much of my heavenly Father do people see when they look at me? Do I remind people of Jesus?

How about you? What qualities have your parents passed on to you? What qualities are you hoping to pass on to your children? And how are you doing becoming like your heavenly Father?

How great the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And this is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. 1 John 3:1-2