Tags
Church, dad, Father, God, Gospel, Holiness, humility, Jesus, Justification, Redemption, salvation, son, thankfulness
A very emotional scene occurred at church yesterday. Picture for a moment a dad accompanying his small son to the altar to confess that he has placed his faith in Jesus Christ, wanting to make his confession of faith public. “Praise God”, “Hallelujah”, or “Joy” may be the first thoughts that come to your mind. Now, just for a moment, consider the dad’s face. It’s what I did, and it has left such a great impact on me. Quivering lips. Watery eyes. Brokenness. Tremendous humility. Thankfulness. While these are the only words that I can come up with to describe what I witnessed, I’m sure they fall far short. Why else would I have been moved to shed tears? Was the dad recalling the time in his own life, as I was, when he too realized his sinfulness in the sight of a Holy God?! Were the contortions of his face a recognition of how helpless he was in saving himself apart from the redeeming grace of the Lord Jesus Christ? Could his expressions be a manifestation of what he felt his son was feeling as the very Creator of the World brought salvation to his child?
Perhaps all of these things could be true. Or, just maybe, this was a dad that realized how grateful he is to a God that goes to the uttermost ends of the earth redeeming his people, regardless of size, stature, or socio-economic standing.
The Almighty God had just saved his boy! How could one not be moved?
**As a side note to this post, I’m so grateful to be a part of a church where the Gospel is so clearly preached week after week!
