If I were to write a letter to my daughters delivering a few parental nuggets, here’s one I would be sure to dispense: Daddy needs Jesus, too.

Girls, I love being your hero. But, heroes have an Achilles heel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an announcement that your Daddy is messed up. Daddy is born into sin just like you are. 

I will fall short. I have fallen short. It pains me now just thinking about my imperfections as a parent. I might act like I have it all together, but, I don’t.

I live in this tension as your earthly father. I want to be your hero, but some days I will fail you. Superman always saves the day but your daddy is limited. Captain America is portrayed as the altruistic paragon. Daddy is not, at least not always. 

Now this is where some parents get nervous. You see, I’m supposed to put on the façade that I’m perfect. Because if you think that I’m not, it will only encourage you to be complacent in imperfection. Won’t my blemishes encourage you to be apathetic towards seeking that which is right? Only if I don’t point you towards the real superhero.

There is a superhero that I want you to be mesmerized by, and it’s not me — it’s Jesus. And Jesus is more than the power of Superman or the altruism of Captain America. 

For starters, he’s God; but he’s much more than that. He is the only hero I know who willingly died for the villain. That’s right, while I was searching for kryptonite, he willingly died for me. As Romans says, “For one will scarcely die for a righteous person — though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die — but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Jesus didn’t just do a favor for an old friend — he died for the villain. 

The good news is while Daddy is not perfect, Jesus died for my villainous ways, and it’s doing something to my soul. To see him take the nails that were meant for me — not because the devil had found the kryptonite, but because Jesus willingly laid down his life — it motivates me to live for his cause. Yes, Daddy fails, but the goodness of Jesus has given me new affections to imitate him.    

So when I say Daddy needs Jesus, too, what I mean is that you need Jesus just as much as I do. Yes, I want to be able to say follow me as I follow Christ.

God is transforming me by his power. But the transformation is not yet complete. So follow my broken and contrite heart. Follow this paradox, that by admitting that I am not your perfect hero, I get the pleasure of pointing you towards the real hero — Jesus. Believe me, you need a hero, too.

Matthew Homan is the pastor of Eureka Baptist Church. He can be reached at matt@eurekabckeysville.com.