"For though you have countless guides in Christ, you do not have many fathers." - 1 Corinthians 4:15
Paul wrote his letter to the Christians in Corinth nearly 2,000 years ago and it's at least as true in our culture today. Children have a lot of teachers. Be they real or fictional, on the TV or YouTube, for good or bad, there's no shortage of figures that they can look up to. Children have plenty of role models. What they lack are fathers.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 43% of children today are growing up without a dad at home. While some children start life with a physical or mental handicap, they are starting with a relational one. And, by virtually all research, this relational deficit will follow them their whole lives. The impacts are emotional, behavioral, educational, financial, and even mental. In other words, it's a real problem.
Beyond that, many dads that are present physically are absent in other ways. They are disengaged, more interested in their hobby of choice than in being actively involved with their children, who so inconveniently get in the way of their free time. In effect, they opt out of parenting. And, in much the same way as when a father is out of the picture altogether, their children so resourcefully find replacements that will give them the vision and attention they thirst for.
Amidst a culture that's struggling to find real dads, Jango Fett stands as a shining example of biblical fatherhood.
I know... I know... allow me a moment to unpack this.
The reason our culture has a fatherhood problem is because it has a worship problem. We glorify freedom, autonomy, and pleasure, putting them on a very high pedestal. In them is promised fulfillment and joy, so they are naturally pursued. A wife and children don't really fit into that pursuit, so are thrown to the wayside. The result is fathers who are anything but.
Biblical fatherhood, on the other hand, starts with a new heart - a Christlike heart, given by the Holy Spirit, that longs for Christlike things. The old desires are replaced by new desires. Children are seen as a blessing, responsibility no longer sounds quite as depressing, and there's now this nagging urge to seek and follow God's will. Theologically, this heart change is called regeneration and it's effects on our thoughts, feelings, and behaviors is called sanctification.
In addition to this change in worldview, God also gives us the scriptures, which contains practical advise and guidance. These work hand-in-hand with our new heart, which gives us the ability and desire to live out what is taught. One of these teachings, if I can bring this back to the matter at hand, is that we are to train up our children alongside us, guiding and teaching them as we go about life (Deuteronomy 11) and that in so doing we will set them up on a trajectory for the rest of their lives (Proverbs 22:6).
There exists, perhaps, no better example of this than Jango Fett.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away, Jango Fett was a successful bounty hunter. Indeed, he was so successful in his career that he became the standard by which the Republic's military was modeled after. During this time, he had a son named Boba. As a single dad, Jango raised Boba, teaching him the ways of his trade. He learned how to shoot a blaster, pilot a ship, track down a target, and other survival skills needed for a galactic bounty hunter. Then tragedy struck. When Boba was ten years old, his beloved father was killed. Yet, even though he was orphaned at a young and impressionable age, Boba held closely to his dad's teachings and eventually became the most famed bounty hunter in the galaxy. Like his father before him, he even wore awesome looking Mandalorian armor. Because Jango was an actively involved parent, guiding and training his son closely from birth on, Boba did not depart from his ways - he was set up on a trajectory for success because his father lived out this biblical principle.
So, the next time you watch Star Wars and see the this dynamic father-son duo, remember that God has both called and equipped you to be a good father, just like Jango Fett.