A Lifestyle In Christ: A Brief Story
“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord” (Ephesians 6:4). I appreciate my dad very much. He was a man who dedicated his life to God and his own family. Some of my most early memories of him revolve around his focus on Jesus and His people. I want to share three experiences surrounding my dad and his connection with God. First, as a child I would lay my head on his lap during worship services hoping that he would either rub my back or play with my hair. While the congregation was in prayer, I would scrutinize his face to see if he kept his eyes closed. It was at this early age that I began to learn about his genuine respect toward the Godhead. Second, many times I saw my dad studying the Bible in bed with notebook paper filled with thoughts and scripture references. As I got older I learned why he studied scripture so meticulously - he wanted to improve his understanding about God (2 Timothy 2:15). Third, he wanted his children to grow toward Christ. Although I liked to be with him, I didn’t always find the places he took me to be exciting; such as, nursing homes and home Bible studies. But I watched, learned, and developed a sense of Christian lifestyle because of him (Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20).
Dad’s childhood wasn’t a “big-bowl-of-cherries” when it came to family stability. Sadly, his own dad divorced and remarried several times. These family events, almost certainly, influenced why he found himself estranged from his siblings for certain periods of time. Thank God other family members stepped up and opened their homes to him. Unfortunately, his family’s unsteadiness didn’t prove to be helpful in his education. He went to thirteen different high schools and had one of the lowest grade point averages in his senior class. Without a doubt, though, He loved his dad greatly and some of his moms, but he had a lot of anger issues as a result of family turmoil. When I was younger, I asked my mom if they ever dealt with the issue of divorce between them. (I asked this because instability in his young life might have affected his current life.) She said he hated divorce so much it was never a topic within their marriage (Ephesians 5:25-33).
As a young man he conceded, more-or-less, an agnostic analysis about God. I asked him what chain of events, within his life, led him en route for Christ. He remembered many helpful influences. First, when very young, a friend’s mom and dad were Christians who made some impact on him. Second, Boy Scouts taught him to have reverence toward God. Third, while in the Air National Guard a fellow military person used to chat with him about Christ. Fourth, his birth mom had studied the Bible and asked him to seek out a place of worship that believed in baptism for the remission of sins. He didn’t know what that meant but found one particular congregation in Chicago, where she lived, and took her there. Fifth, his own brother, who was already a Christian at this time, educated him even further about the blessings found in Christ. Sixth, a fellow colleague taught him about God’s people (Psalm 1; Proverbs 1).
My dad was far from perfect (1 John 1:1-10). He became a Christian in his young thirties when my brother and sister were small children and before I was born. He knew that he needed Christ for all the years he lived a lifestyle of sin. He knew his temper sometimes got the best of him and he would react poorly at certain situations. He knew he couldn’t be faultless on his own. One anecdote, of his early Christian life, supports how Christ worked on his developmental road to maturity. While teaching a youth Bible class, an older boy was being ill-mannered and troublesome. My dad’s patience was very limited, at this time, and he resolved to end this “lack-of-respect” in the only way he knew. He went over to the boy, lifted him off his chair, and pinned him against the wall putting the “fear-of-God” into him (Proverbs 22:15). Of course, he later apologized to all the appropriate parties and proceeded to grow in Christ. Over the years, dad developed into a godly elder, leader, and teacher (Ephesians 4:11-16). How could he have grown-up for Christ when life seemed to be against him? What made him become the man he chose to be when he came from such a low standing in life? The answer is God through Christ. My dad’s desire to follow Christ became his lifestyle (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21).
I appreciate my dad because he committed himself to the One who can save my soul from eternal death. Thanks dad. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves
Dad’s childhood wasn’t a “big-bowl-of-cherries” when it came to family stability. Sadly, his own dad divorced and remarried several times. These family events, almost certainly, influenced why he found himself estranged from his siblings for certain periods of time. Thank God other family members stepped up and opened their homes to him. Unfortunately, his family’s unsteadiness didn’t prove to be helpful in his education. He went to thirteen different high schools and had one of the lowest grade point averages in his senior class. Without a doubt, though, He loved his dad greatly and some of his moms, but he had a lot of anger issues as a result of family turmoil. When I was younger, I asked my mom if they ever dealt with the issue of divorce between them. (I asked this because instability in his young life might have affected his current life.) She said he hated divorce so much it was never a topic within their marriage (Ephesians 5:25-33).
As a young man he conceded, more-or-less, an agnostic analysis about God. I asked him what chain of events, within his life, led him en route for Christ. He remembered many helpful influences. First, when very young, a friend’s mom and dad were Christians who made some impact on him. Second, Boy Scouts taught him to have reverence toward God. Third, while in the Air National Guard a fellow military person used to chat with him about Christ. Fourth, his birth mom had studied the Bible and asked him to seek out a place of worship that believed in baptism for the remission of sins. He didn’t know what that meant but found one particular congregation in Chicago, where she lived, and took her there. Fifth, his own brother, who was already a Christian at this time, educated him even further about the blessings found in Christ. Sixth, a fellow colleague taught him about God’s people (Psalm 1; Proverbs 1).
My dad was far from perfect (1 John 1:1-10). He became a Christian in his young thirties when my brother and sister were small children and before I was born. He knew that he needed Christ for all the years he lived a lifestyle of sin. He knew his temper sometimes got the best of him and he would react poorly at certain situations. He knew he couldn’t be faultless on his own. One anecdote, of his early Christian life, supports how Christ worked on his developmental road to maturity. While teaching a youth Bible class, an older boy was being ill-mannered and troublesome. My dad’s patience was very limited, at this time, and he resolved to end this “lack-of-respect” in the only way he knew. He went over to the boy, lifted him off his chair, and pinned him against the wall putting the “fear-of-God” into him (Proverbs 22:15). Of course, he later apologized to all the appropriate parties and proceeded to grow in Christ. Over the years, dad developed into a godly elder, leader, and teacher (Ephesians 4:11-16). How could he have grown-up for Christ when life seemed to be against him? What made him become the man he chose to be when he came from such a low standing in life? The answer is God through Christ. My dad’s desire to follow Christ became his lifestyle (Galatians 2:20; Philippians 1:21).
I appreciate my dad because he committed himself to the One who can save my soul from eternal death. Thanks dad. “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6).
The Lord’s humbled . . . John A. Reeves