Guardians Of The Galaxy 2: The Power of a Present Dad

“He may have been your father, boy, but he wasn’t your daddy.”

It's a raw moment...one of the most powerful scenes in all of the MCU. Hitting harder than any space battle or blaster explosion, Yondu sacrifices his life for Peter. Despite having seen it multiple times, it still manages to get the waterworks flowing for me.

To be clear, Yondu wasn’t perfect. Far from it. He raised Peter in a crew of thieves. He threatened him more than once. He made bad choices and lived with plenty of regret. He was deeply flawed and hardly an example of aspirational fatherhood. But in the end, Yondu revealed what an important aspect of fatherhood—not perfection, but sacrifice. He gave up his life so Peter could live.

That one choice spoke louder than all his flaws. 

My father wasn't perfect. No father is. But he taught me what it looks like to live as a godly man. A loving husband. And a father who knew how to sacrifice for the sake of his family. One of the more standout and regular memories I have of my dad is from traveling back and forth from St. Louis to Nashville. (I grew up in St. Louis, but went to college in Nashville.) Any time I would leave the house to begin the drive back to university, my dad would walk me to the front door of our house and slip some cash in my pocket. Even after college, he would do the same. I told him on a regular basis he didn't have to do that--I was fine financially. I didn't need him to give me money. But he insisted. "I'm your dad. I know I don't have to. I get to."

At the end of the day, that’s the power of a dad. Not perfection. Not performance. Presence. A father who shows up, who sacrifices in quiet, consistent ways and leaves an imprint that lasts a lifetime.

Yondu wasn’t remembered for his failures in that final moment—he was remembered for laying down his life. My dad’s gift wasn’t about the money in my pocket—it was about the reminder that I was never walking alone.

That’s the calling of every father and every leader: to embody the privilege of sacrificial love. To say, “I don’t have to. I get to.”

And while no earthly dad gets it right all the time, we are pointed through their sacrifice to the One who always does—our Heavenly Father, who showed His love by giving His Son so that we might live.