My apologies to those of you who have followed my blog over the years. I was stricken with Covid back in October, spent 30 days in the hospital, and now I am home trying to get back to full strength. (Appreciate your prayers in that regard.)
Pr 30:11 There is a generation that curses
its father, And does not bless its mother. 12 There is a generation that is
pure in its own eyes, Yet is not washed from its filthiness. 13 There is a
generation-oh, how lofty are their eyes! And their eyelids are lifted up. 14
There is a generation whose teeth are like swords, And whose fangs are like
knives, To devour the poor from off the earth, And the needy from among men.
I almost didn’t post this today because I know many
parents who are experiencing this very thing from their children. I’m not going
to throw out a bunch of statistics concerning the numerical growth of the so
called “nones” (those with no religious affiliation) because the “nones” that
matter most to you and I are the ones in our own families. To a loving parent,
one none is too many!
I mean what happened? We all sought to “train up our
children in the way they should go so that when they grow old they will not
depart from the faith.” (Prov 22:6) For some, that training takes, for others
it doesn’t.
Why have my two adult children embraced the faith and yet
my prayer list is rife with the prodigal children of many of my acquaintances?
These acquaintances did all the right things, but their children turned away
from the faith and many with the vengeance that we sense in the above portion
of Scripture. I mean, “cursing mother and father?” “Pure in their own eyes?” “Teeth
like swords?” Many of these children have turned into God-haters, instead of
God-lovers!
I don’t have the answer to that question, but here are
some things I do know:
God has not stopped loving them!
Faith is a gift from God!
We all have to work out our salvation, we don’t get to
heaven on the coattails of our parents.
It ain’t over till it’s over.
There is no one beyond the reach of God’s mercy.
That prodigal matters! Jesus left the 99 to find the
one that was in deep trouble! He’s on the trail of your prodigal even as you
read this.
I know this to be true because I too, was a “none”
before they had such a name. I spurned the God of my youth and sought to live
in the ways of the world. But one day I hit rock bottom. This worldly living
wasn’t working out. My “lofty eyes”
weren’t so lofty after I was humbled by my second OWI.
Thanks to the prayers of my mother-in-law, my wife,
and her church friends, and her incredible godly example, I heard the gospel
anew, and the Holy Spirit re-awakened me to the faith of my childhood. All
glory to God!
Many of you don’t know what I was like before the Lord
got a hold of me the second time, but believe me when I say this: If God could
save a wretch like me, He can save anybody, and He will seek to do that. In the
meantime, let us continue to pray and live out the example of our loving
Savior, trusting God for the results!
