Better Dads Better Kids

A devotional I wrote for my church, St. Pauls Lutheran Church in Decatur IL.

Everyone likes to be a winner.  In kids’ video games, the goal is to advance to the next level.  Do we realize how easy it is to advance to the next level in the game of life?  All we have to do is accept the free gift that God gives us.

One of the big turning points in my life came from the phrase, “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.”  Up to that point, I always questioned if I was good enough to be a Christian.  I know how selfish I can be.  I know the stupid decisions I have made in the past and continue to make.  How can I be a Christian?  But this phrase made me realize it’s not about me and what I’ve done.  It’s about Christ and what He did.

In Rick Warren’s book The Purpose of Christmas, he points out that Jesus didn’t come to rub it in, but to rub it out.  So many people view God as this “ready to strike you dead” type.  In reality, He is the exact opposite.  No matter what your addiction, no matter what pain you have caused or feel, He is always ready to accept you back with open arms, if you will just turn and run to Him.

With that being said, I think life is easier if you get an education and learn a trade.  Life is easier if you learn good habits, as opposed to bad.  Life is easier if you don’t give in to all of the temptations of this world.  Life is easier if you don’t see yourself as a victim.  Life is easier if you learn to serve, rather than expect people to serve you.  Life is easier if we live out the Bible’s concept of family.

I wish I could live up to the phrase that says the richest man is not the one that has the most, but the one that needs the least.  While we struggle with all these things, we don’t have to struggle with the most important thing in being a Christian.  God’s gift of grace is right there waiting for us to accept it.  It’s easy to be a winner.