Thursday, July 30, 2009

Christian Parents

Talk about a good reason for low grades. Carl was being lectured by his parents for his low grades. The best excuse he could think of was, "Well, all the boys at school made C's and D's; it wasn't just me."

"All of them?" his dad cross-questioned. "What about Brandon down the street? Did he make C's and D's?"

"No. Not Brandon. He got higher grades," Carl admitted. "But Brandon's different. He has smart parents."


 

You know that a kid does not have to have smart parents to get the high grades, although it probably doesn't hurt. Higher grades are usually made when there is attention and help from parents regardless of their intelligence. Attention and help are critical for every kind of learning.

I am concerned about the spiritual welfare of our kids. I see their interest in and devotion to spiritual things on a downhill slide. We need to figure out what is pushing this trend and stop it. Let me illustrate what I believe one of the major contributors to the spiritual demise of our children by changing the earlier story a little.


 

Talk about a good reason for poor Facebook content. Carl was being lectured for some profanity and sexually suggestive comments on his Facebook page. "Well, all the boys were posting that kind of stuff. It wasn't just me."

"All of them?" his dad cross-questioned. "What about Brandon down the street? Did he post that kind of garbage?"

"No. Not Brandon. He didn't," Carl admitted. "But Brandon's different. He has Christian parents."


 

Ouch! That would hurt, wouldn't it? Or maybe I should say, "That does hurt, doesn't it?" Most of us who are parent have witnessed our children behave in unacceptable ways and then realized that they were imitating what they had seen or heard from us.


 

"Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin!" Jesus said. "Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!" Our progeny are going to miss the mark, just like we do – really, just like we do. But let's be sure that in an age where temptation is all around, we provide as good a picture of the character of Jesus for them as we possibly can. That's Life at Work!

Friday, July 24, 2009

I Will Rise

Talking with some friends at lunch recently. When I think about death, I told them, my first thought is "relief." I'm not going to hasten the day when I will rise, but it's fine with me if Jesus does. Here's one of my favorites that tells me that H-E-A-V-E-N spells relief. What or whom do you think of when you think about dying?