26 August 2008 Devotion for Today “Happy Birthday, John” Matthew 3:17

Today is my oldest son’s birthday, and I am therefore dedicating this devotional to him. His name is John. Its hard to believe that here he is now, a grown man in college when my mind goes back so easily to when I saw him delivered in that hospital room in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania nineteen years ago today. He had no idea the life of excitement and joy and struggle he would experience up to now. I recall how he squealed with delight as his first steps moved unsteadily across our kitchen floor. He made room early in his heart for others as he saw the arrival of his brother and then his sister. He endured our uprooting him from one house to another, and then from one school into another. The day he asked Jesus Christ to be his Lord and Savior thrilled my heart, as well as the day I baptized him. His role as a “preacher’s kid” was not always an easy one. He would have to endure a lot for my sake, and bear patiently hurtful things done and said to him by people who did not like me. He never complained when he saw other children of the church receive things we as his parents could not afford. I recall how I trembled for him the day I left him in that second grade classroom where he not only knew a soul, but couldn’t even speak their language. There were also many visits to hospital emergency rooms and at least one ambulance ride, but we’ll not speak of those. He went at every interest with unusual intensity. Through the years, John managed to channel the energy of so much of that intensity into a passion and love for music. Although not initially thrilled with his choice of instruments, I will never forget the look on his face as he stood mouth wide-open at the new drum set we bought for his twelfth birthday. He learned to drive and learned to work, learned to lead, and learned to do so many things so well and so much better than his parents. John set his pursuit of music through his middle and high school years, and has determined to study music education as a percussionist in college. A parent could not be more proud of what John with the Lord’s help has accomplished in these years, with a brighter future than I could have ever hoped for myself when I was his age.

I believe with all my heart that this has become possible because Robin and I dedicated John to the Lord when he was six months old. We have not been perfect parents, but we were thankful that we made a commitment to the knowledge that John is not just our child, he is God’s child and knows more about what he needs and what he will do than his earthly mom and dad. To this day I marvel at the ambivalence, if not stupidity of parents who let their kids do what they want and then wonder why they can’t deal with them as they get older, or will provide them alcohol and other harmful things under the pretext that “its better they do this at home than not know where they are.” Or even worse, “I’ll let my children decide when their older what faith choices to make.” Those valuable lessons are so often thrown away by parents. We have not always been the parents we should have been, but we knew that to give John to the Lord meant that we had to enforce discipline when our hearts wanted to play with him and let him off easy when he got into trouble. This meant saying no when all the other kids were getting what they wanted. This meant standing back and watching him learn the hard way when we would want so much to jump in and rescue him from his mistakes. Because of this, no two parents could be so happy than for the gifts God has given us in all three of our children. We echo the love and the emotion expressed from heaven the day our Father watched His Son begin His earthly ministry by saying “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:17. I am also glad for the fact that we never neglected to tell our children how much we loved them and are proud of them, and will always be there for them- in their failures as well as in their successes.

As a parent of young children you might be dreading some of the drudgery and unpleasantness and stress of taking care of them, but they will not be this way for long. You will be amazed at how quickly the time goes by, so focus upon the joy they are giving you. How well I remember the temptation of how much easier it would be to take our children back to their preschool years than to endure them as teenagers until the reality struck- the day John received his high school diploma- that they will not always be part of our lives as they are now.

May God help you and give you the grace as you train up your children in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord. It will not be easy, but then nothing worthwhile will ever be. The lessons you instill into them now will come back to you when you are old.

Have a blessed day, and happy birthday, John!