As you all know, I am a Viking fan.  Adrian Peterson is our main man.  Without Adrian the Vikings are a diminished NFL football them.  I wrote a blog awhile back about Peterson’s comments on the blood of Jesus. But lately we have heard of a  hidden part of his life.  It has became national news in the sports world that Adrian was the father to a 2 year-old boy he only met on his deathbed and a daughter he welcomed into the world with a waitress about three months ago.  Now Erica Sylon, a former dancer and mother of one of Peterson’s sons says she is aware of five children, including her son, who have Adrian as their father. Sylon noted that as far as she was aware, Peterson takes care of all of his children financially but he could do more as a father.  “I’ll say he takes care of them financially, the ones that I know of.  He gets my son in the summer time but he could do better,” said the former dancer.

I am doing another post on Adrian for two reasons.  The first is the danger of the pedestal, we believers put our superstars on, because of their professed faith in Christ.  I am not questioning Adrian’s journey with Christ, but rather my own mistake of putting him on a pedestal.  I want so much for our Viking superstar to be not only an” “impact player” but also an “impact witness” for Jesus.  But Jesus warns us, “If you grow a healthy tree, you’ll pick healthy fruit.  If you grow a diseased tree, you’ll pick worm-eaten fruit.  The fruit tells you about the tree” (Matt 12:33 – Message).  We are all “damaged fruit” as persons.  It takes time for us all to produce good fruit.  So the lesson for me is to pray that Adrian grows spiritually so that he can become an impact witness.  It take time to produce the good fruit of an “impact witness.”

My second reason is to lament to diminished status of “fatherhood” in our culture.  Adrian’s recent past does not set a good example for young men, who admire superstars.  I will say it again in this blog.  The greatest social failure in our culture is irresponsible, passive and absent fathers.  Until fathers take their rightful place in the family and policy and opinion makers acknowledge the “absence” of real dads, there is, in my opinion, little hope for renewal in our culture.

Men, I know that all of you who read this blog want to be good dads.  I am now a 72 year old Grandfather.  When I was a very young father, I learned of my responsibility before the Lord to be a father.  Eph. 6:4 was very convicting to me. “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.  My NIV bible has this note on “exasperate. “Fathers must surrender any right they may feel that they have to act unreasonably toward their children.”  I did the best with the what I had to be a dad.  So dads take heart, if this is your intention, as you come before the Lord.  Crying out for mercy, he will meet your need in the task of fathering.