Our Childhood Series

HoHum:

Fred Craddock, while lecturing at Yale University told of going back one summer to Gatlinburg, Tennessee, to take a short vacation with his wife. One night they found a quiet little restaurant where they looked forward to a private meal - just the two of them. While they were waiting for their meal they noticed a distinguished looking, white-haired man moving from table to table, visiting guests. Craddock whispered to his wife, "I hope he doesn’t come over here." He didn’t want the man to intrude on their privacy. But the man did come by his table. "Where you folks from?" he asked. "Oklahoma." "Splendid state, I hear, although I’ve never been there. What do you do for a living?” "I teach preaching at the graduate seminary of Phillips University." "Oh, so you teach preachers, do you. Well, I’ve got a story I want to tell you." And with that he pulled up a chair and sat down at the table with Craddock and his wife. Dr. Craddock said he groaned inwardly: Oh no, here comes another preacher story. It seems everyone has one. The man stuck out his hand. “I’m Ben Hooper. I was born not far from here across the mountains. My mother wasn’t married when I was born so I had a hard time. When I started to school my classmates had a name for me, and it wasn’t a very nice name. I used to go off by myself at recess and during lunchtime because the taunts of my playmates cut so deeply. "What was worse was going downtown on Saturday afternoon and feeling every eye burning a hole through you. They were all wondering just who my real father was. "When I was about 12 years old a new preacher came to our church. I would always go in late and slip out early. But one day the preacher said the benediction so fast I got caught and had to walk out with the crowd. I could feel every eye in church on me. Just about the time I got to the door I felt a big hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the preacher was looking right at me. "Who are you, son? Whose boy are you?’ I felt the old weight come on me. It was like a big black cloud. Even the preacher was putting me down. But as he looked down at me, studying my face, he began to smile a big smile of recognition. "Wait a minute," he said, "I know who you are. I see the family resemblance. You are a son of God." With that he slapped me across the rump and said, "Boy you’ve got a great inheritance. Go and claim it." The old man looked across the table at Fred Craddock and said, "That was the most important single sentence ever said to me." With that he smiled, shook the hands of Craddock and his wife, and moved on to another table to greet old friends. Suddenly, Fred Craddock remembered. On two occasions the people of Tennessee had elected an illegitimate son to be their governor. One of them was Ben Hooper...a man with a great inheritance.

WBTU:

“For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.”” Romans 8:15, NIV. We not only call him “Father” but even “Abba” which many say has the intimate meaning of “Daddy.”

Thesis: To persevere during trying times we need to remember our childhood (sonship) in Christ

For instances:

I. The Father’s Love Lavished On Us

Along with Revelation, John also encouraged Christians in 3 letters in the NT. In these letters, John exhorted Christians to persist in faith, despite the forces that battled against them. In the midst of many encouragements, John reminded his readers of their relationship with God the Father. “How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!” 1 John 3:1, NIV. When we remember our childhood, our sonship, this provides additional empowerment to persevere. In the midst of struggle, temptation, even persecution, we can trust our sovereign King and we can rest in our Father’s embrace.

J.I. Packer says this, “If you want to judge how well a person understands Christianity, find out how much he makes of the thought of being God’s child, and having God as his Father. If this is not the thought that prompts and controls his worship and prayers and his whole outlook on life, it means that he does not understand Christianity very well at all.”

The Unlimited Capacity of a Father’s Love

God loves each of us individually, as a father loves each of his children. Additionally, God serves as the Father of His entire family. “I will be a Father to you, and you will be my sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty.” 2 Corinthians 6:18, NIV. The Father’s love for each Christian does not minimize His love for others; in fact, it enhances it.