Jack Elway, former football coach of Stanford University and father of Hall of Fame quarterback John Elway, was once asked how he dealt with being an expert in the same field his son had chosen as a profession.
Jack’s response was: “In your son’s life he’ll have many mentors, many coaches, many men to teach and motivate and correct him. He’ll have only one father. All you have to do is love him.”
Reading this quote (in Randall Wallace’s book, Living the Braveheart Life) reminded me of something I had heard John Elway say years earlier.
After his second Super Bowl loss — if you’re a Bronco fan, you’ll remember those first two Super Bowls qualified as embarrassing — the younger Elway was, of course, devastated. It wasn’t merely a team loss; John himself hadn’t played up to par.
That evening his father visited him. He didn’t break down his son’s performance or offer any advice. He just sat with him.
It was one of those moments in which Jack knew that his son didn’t need a coach. He needed a dad.
Fathers, there are many roles you will play in the lives of your sons and daughters. Keep in mind that your greatest role is to let them know that they are loved, always, as we are loved by our Heavenly Father.
As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. (Psalm 103:13)
