Last night my wife and I watched two episodes of Modern Love, a show about relationships drawn from letters to the New York Times. My wife liked the show (thus two episodes), but I slowly grew disenchanted. I couldn’t place my finger on why, until this morning.

In the first episode, a young woman living alone in New York City enjoys a friendship with her doorman, a former Albanian soldier. The doorman treats her like a daughter, watching her return home from dates, commenting on the men she spends time with, offering good advice.

The young woman accidentally gets pregnant, facing the daunting prospect of bringing up a child alone. The doorman is the one person who stands by her through her crisis and the raising of her young daughter.

It’s a wonderful story, one of devotion and friendship from an unlikely source. I should enjoy it. But I did not.

Why?

I watched the show as a father.

As a father, I’m annoyed that this young lady, with so much in her favor, finds it necessary to sleep with multiple men in order to pursue a lasting relationship. I know it’s hurting her.

As a father, I’m mad at the baby father. The dude needs to man up – do the right thing. He remains passive, in the background. He represents the overgrown adolescents that pass for many men in our society. I want to shake him.

As a father, I’m frustrated that this young lady’s real father doesn’t show up.

On the flip side, as a father I totally appreciate the doorman. Not enough men like him in our world.

This all makes me wonder how our Heavenly Father views our lives? Like the doorman, he’s watchful, patient as we chase what we think will make us happy, ready with an open door.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock…”

Jesus in Revelation 3