Surreal Moments

There are times in our lives when we experience what has become known as surreal moments. The dictionary defines surreal as "fantastic, dream-like, unbelievable." I had a couple of those moments (minus the unbelievability) yesterday as I heard my son preach at the church where he is privileged to serve. He clearly taught the passage, convicted me of my own lack of kingdom-mindedness and gave me steps to take in moving that direction. The surreal feeling was anchored in the fact that this is MY son who is honoring God through the use of his gifts. It is NOT that I didn't think he could or would ever do such a thing. It is that, as with all of us, there was (and is) always the very real possibility of being sidetracked from doing what God has created us to do...glorify Him in all we do. It also isn't that preaching is more important than other things a person might do. It is that he is doing what God gifted him to do in a way that honors the Giver of the gift. By the way, I get the same feeling when I attend a musical directed by my middle daughter in which adults and children sing of God's grace in Jesus or hear the stories of lives changed by those recruited by my oldest daughter to further the Kingdom by serving the children of missionaries by providing quality education in the context of Christian community.

I hope, by God's grace, to have many such surreal moments as my children continue to live out a vital relationship with Jesus. By the way, my son's sermon should be available as a podcast shortly at the Bethany Church Podcast web page. If you listen, you'll discover that it is not simply a father's pride that speaks of his ability (although there is that). He does a fine job of communicating what Jesus said in the passage and what he meant by what he said and the difference that should make in our lives as followers of Christ.