|
The Corner
Dear Friends, When my first son came into this world, I was overjoyed and awestruck that God had entrusted this little bundle into my care. Minutes after Andrew was born, I held him in my arms and gave him back to the Lord. After all, he wasn’t mine, God had just entrusted him to me as a temporary caretaker on this earth. I knew that when I gave Andrew back to the Lord, He would look after Andrew even better than I could. Shortly after Andrew’s birth, Katerina and I were inundated with learning the ropes of being new parents. Everything was new to us and our lives were completely changed. We had left the phase of being just a married couple and entered into the second phase. It was at this time that I began to read through the Bible to see what it had to say about parenting. One of the verses I came across was Proverbs 22:6, which says: “Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.” I thought back to my childhood and the lessons and values my parents had invested in me and how this particular scripture was true in my life. As Andrew is getting older, it’s clear that he is imitating me in many ways; his eyes and ears are watching my actions and listening to my words. I want the best for him and realize that I need to be a good example. Just reading the Bible is not enough, I need to live out the instructions so Andrew will be able to see Jesus in me. I want the best for Andrew and it is my desire to see that he prospers and makes a choice to follow Christ. When I came across Deuteronomy 6:6-7, I realized the seriousness of being a father. God clearly says there isn’t a moment of the day where He should not be involved in our activities and conversations. I have come to realize that the Creator knows children are like little sponges, they will simply absorb whatever is around them. Andrew is now three and recently gave me proof that God’s Word is true. It took place as we were in the car driving to a destination. I was feeling a little depressed and lost in my thoughts. All of a sudden Andrew spoke up and told me that he wanted to pray for me. That got my attention because I had never heard him say this before. I immediately encouraged him to pray and was astonished when he began to pray word for word like I do. In all the times I have prayed with Andrew, I knew he was listening, but it wasn’t until that day that I realized just how much he was really absorbing. I was truly blessed to see that God was honoring His Word and awed that the Holy Spirit used Andrew to minister to me. I decided that my pity party was over and it was time to give the devil a headache, so we sang and praised the Lord with all our might! What a joy it was to share this precious time with my son! What a joy it is to be able to obediently follow the instructions in the Bible and see the reward! I would like to leave you with the chorus to Steve Green’s song, “Find Us Faithful.” It inspires me to be a man of God for my children and for all the other people that see me and know that I am Christian. “May all who come behind us find us faithful. May the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe. And the lives we live inspire them to obey. Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.” May God richly bless you today,
Charles Thorell |
