The Pull of the Open Gate

Series introduction

When I was fifteen, my dad could frustrate me just by walking into the room. His rules felt small, and his advice felt slow. I wanted to make my own way.

Now my son is fifteen, and I am the one walking into the room.

This five-day series explores the tension between a young person’s growing independence and a parent’s responsibility to guide. It is also about the humility of fathers who are still learning to follow the Shepherd themselves.

The desire to mature, develop responsibility, and eventually establish an independent life is good. The desire to escape accountability is not always good. Those impulses can feel remarkably similar at fifteen.