Bring up a child by teaching him the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn away from it. (Proverbs 22:6, NLT)
Maybe I’m sentimental, but I love all the holidays. If you’re on my email list or in my phone, you’re going to get a greeting from me almost any time one of these special days rolls around. So while it’s still a bit early, I’m already thinking about June’s special day: Father’s Day. I’m just sorry it won’t have the US Open to go with it this year.
Part of the reason I like Father’s Day is that it reminds me of how wonderful it is to share life with my children and grandchildren. But it hasn’t always been easy.
When my son was 16, he said to me one night, “I go to church because you make me go to church.” In my mind I felt like saying, “You are dang right! As long as you live in this household, you’ll go to church with us!” But the Holy Spirit stopped me. I said to my son, “You are right” (which was one of the hardest things to say to him at the time). I added, “You have to own your own faith.” I didn’t say this on my own. That week, I had heard a radio teacher explain that it is very difficult to repair a broken spirit, and I did not want to break my son’s spirit just then.
Many of my friends in Links Fellowships ask for prayer for their children or grandchildren. They want to see them changed by Christ.My son no longer went to church with us on Sundays. Then he went off to college and was able to experience traveling abroad. During this period, even though he didn’t want to talk about spiritual things, our relationship continued to grow as a father and son because of golf. We did this for 11 years, often following the PGA Tour, playing where the pros played. To this day, my son says it was the best time of his life on these trips—and I would have to say ditto!
But it was another trip that brought my son back to Jesus. Keeping up our tradition of travel, we invited him to come to Israel with us when we went with our church. While we were there, my son rededicated his life to Christ. He and my wife were baptized in the Jordan River, and I was so excited for them that I was baptized with them, too.
Saying you love someone unconditionally is maybe a stretch. Even those we love most will do things to test that love. But God strengthened me to keep hanging out with my son even when he wasn’t interested in the thing that mattered most to me: Jesus. We live in a time when change is uncomfortable. When it’s God who brings the change, though, it can be so exciting!
Many of my friends in Links Fellowships ask for prayer for their children or grandchildren. They want to see them changed by Christ. What a great prayer! Each child is different, and the way we approach them about life and faith may need to be different, too. But every child can be reached by the love of God (which will always be far greater than our love!), so keep praying and keep hoping to see the answer of God in your children’s lives.
—
Dereck Wong
June 8, 2020
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The Links Daily Devotional appears Monday-Friday at www.linksplayers.com.
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