If I thought articles such as this were not helping anyone I would quit in a minute. It was such as this, though...back when we were young in the faith that helped us so much.
So....
After we learned and obeyed the gospel and had a young family growing up...we were trying to convert my dad. He was one of so many who believed that if you were just good you would go to heaven. And he was a good man! But that thinking is so false because if it were true, Jesus died for nothing.
I loved him so dearly...our mother had died when we were ages 3 (me) , 5 (my sister) and 8 (my brother).
Our dad really had his hands full trying to make a living and taking care of us too. His mother (a dear lady) either lived with us part of the time or we lived with her, but most of the time it was just us four.
Well back to my story...trying to convert him. He lived 150 miles away in western Oklahoma and when he would come visit or we would go visit him, it was very hard to leave and go to church when the time came. We invited him to go , but he wouldn't. It would have been even harder to put him before Christ and stay home with him.
It took 21 years to convert him and what a grand day that was when he telephoned me and told me about his baptism into Christ.
I was present one day when he was telling somebody (probably my aunt, can't remember) not long after he became a Christian that: "Bobby and Edna wouldn't stay home with us on Sunday or Sunday or Wednesday night...when we'd go visit them. They always left us and went on to church, after inviting us to go. "
I was thinking of that this morning and being so thankful that we didn't give in and stay home. I don't think he would have been converted without seeing what Christ meant to us. What we do is so much more important than what we say.
And...if your children can't see in you...that Christ is more important than anything else to you...they may not be faithful when they grow up. I am so very thankful for the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
So....
After we learned and obeyed the gospel and had a young family growing up...we were trying to convert my dad. He was one of so many who believed that if you were just good you would go to heaven. And he was a good man! But that thinking is so false because if it were true, Jesus died for nothing.
I loved him so dearly...our mother had died when we were ages 3 (me) , 5 (my sister) and 8 (my brother).
Our dad really had his hands full trying to make a living and taking care of us too. His mother (a dear lady) either lived with us part of the time or we lived with her, but most of the time it was just us four.
Well back to my story...trying to convert him. He lived 150 miles away in western Oklahoma and when he would come visit or we would go visit him, it was very hard to leave and go to church when the time came. We invited him to go , but he wouldn't. It would have been even harder to put him before Christ and stay home with him.
It took 21 years to convert him and what a grand day that was when he telephoned me and told me about his baptism into Christ.
I was present one day when he was telling somebody (probably my aunt, can't remember) not long after he became a Christian that: "Bobby and Edna wouldn't stay home with us on Sunday or Sunday or Wednesday night...when we'd go visit them. They always left us and went on to church, after inviting us to go. "
I was thinking of that this morning and being so thankful that we didn't give in and stay home. I don't think he would have been converted without seeing what Christ meant to us. What we do is so much more important than what we say.
And...if your children can't see in you...that Christ is more important than anything else to you...they may not be faithful when they grow up. I am so very thankful for the grace of God and the Lord Jesus Christ.
No comments:
Post a Comment