Grand Rewards

The three most important things in life are faith, family and friends. And this month my wife and I were privileged to enjoy some extra blessings with our family.

All four of our children and all five of our grandchildren were actually in town at the same time. Now that may not sound like something worth celebrating to you but it was for us!

With the oldest daughter’s family in the Midwest and the middle daughter’s family overseas, it’s a rare treat to spend time with all our grandchildren at once. To get them all under one roof at the same time was--well it was both exhilarating and exhausting. (If you have grandchildren you know what I mean!)

I have a friend who said that the two most wonderful sights in the world are the headlights of the car arriving with his grandchildren and the taillights of the car leaving with them a few days later!

Individually they are a delight, but get them all together and they will wear you out!

In ancient times, to live long enough to see one’s grandchildren was considered a great blessing. But with today’s longer life spans it’s something most modern parents will experience.

Someone once said, “Grandchildren are the reward you get for not strangling your teenagers when you felt like it!” And what a grand reward grandchildren are.

But I know someone who will never have grandchildren, even though he has children.

God never has and never will have grandchildren.

Well, hold on there just a minute! Someone might say, “My parents (or grandparents) were Christians and took me to church. Doesn’t that make me a Christian, a (grand)-child of God?”

Unfortunately not--at least according to the Bible.

Speaking about Jesus Christ the Bible says, “Yet to all who received him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God--children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

Jesus said that to enter the kingdom of God a person must be “born again.” He described it as a spiritual birth, different from the physical birth we all experience.

Later the Apostle Paul used the word “saved” to describe the change of heart Jesus talked about. He said, “If you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”

The power to forgive your sin and change your heart, to give you eternal life and make you a part of God’s forever family is not in the words you say but in the God who hears them. He is able to do all that and more.

And, yes, it’s that simple to become a child of God. It’s not a matter of who your parents or grandparents are. It’s not a matter of which church your membership is in. It’s not even a matter of who you are. It’s just a matter of WHOSE you are.

The Bible says that if your faith is in God, through his son, Jesus Christ, then you are his child. But you must consciously, personally and individually pray and tell God you want Jesus to be in charge of your life as Lord. You must ask Jesus to be your Savior. It’s not automatic.

While I enjoy my children and my grandchildren, God’s delight is in each of his children. In fact all of heaven celebrates every time someone is born into God’s family. Jesus said, “I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”

Listen to the Bible; it’s great for your soul!