Dear Sovereign Redeemer and other friends,

This is me and my Parker pen.

It goes with me everywhere. I can’t imagine not having it. I don’t know if it is the best writing pen because I don’t try other pens. When it finally stops working and the time has come to replace it, I will buy – you guessed it – another Parker pen. To what does the Parker Company owe such undying brand loyalty? My Dad carried a Parker pen. Just like this one. Period, end of story. I am forty-three, and I always carry a Parker pen because my Dad carried one and I love my Dad. I am deadly serious.

Dads are not like other men. They enjoy an enormous God-given advantage for influencing their sons. I know this as a son. I know this as a father who looks into the eyes of a son. Tragically, many fathers squander their advantage. My Dad didn’t. He used it. He used his God-given influence in my life to give me an incredible foundation to build on. He gave me a head start in so many different categories. My Mom did too, and it has made a tremendous difference in my life. I could never forget it, and I am crying while I type. So don’t laugh at my love for my Parker pen. It isn’t the pen.

Some Dads are reading this. I want to address you, to plead with you to recognize the advantage God Himself has given you so that you can disproportionately influence your sons and daughters. Use it! Leverage it for the glory of your Redeemer! It will make a world of difference in each life, and maybe one day you will notice that they have an irrational attachment to some silly thing like a pen, and you will know that you are dearly loved for who you are and all you have invested in them.