The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him. Psalm 103:13
A father’s approval can shape a life—and its absence can shape it even more.
He was the first person to trek to the North Pole, the South Pole, and summit Mt. Everest. His trek to the North Pole was an unsupported, 58-day, solo journey, enduring extreme cold, isolation and total silence. Despite the accolades and fame he achieved, what Erling Kagge really wanted was his dad’s approval.
After he returned from his epic feat to the North Pole, Kagge’s father said, “I think it’s ridiculous to walk to the North Pole, and by the way, your brother is more fit than you and should have done it.” Kagge points out that almost all North Pole explorers had a hard relationship with their fathers or didn’t have a father. “It’s the oldest story,” Kagge says, “The son who wants to know his father and be loved by him.”[1]
It’s hard to reconcile the brokenness of an earthly father with a God who is known as The Father. The Bible—the oldest story of fathers and sons—describes Him in this way: “The Lord is like a father to his children, tender and compassionate to those who fear him” (Psalm 103:13). And God, as loving Father, is pictured in the Bible’s story of a wayward son who had brought the ultimate shame on his father. Yet, when the son returns home, the father welcomes him with open arms. Scripture says, “And while [the son] was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him” (Luke 15:20).
That’s the father so many of us long for—and that is the picture of the Father who showed us what fatherhood was always meant to be. Today, you can come to the Father who runs toward you and welcomes you with open arms.
[1] Erling Kagge, “50 Days Alone in Antarctica: ‘How Solitude Revealed Life’s True Meaning & Purpose,’” YouTube video, accessed April 14, 2026, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdRhevdO69o.
