My Father must have loved me more than the rest!

Over the past week, I have been studying for a sermon that God has laid on my heart to preach. It all started after my last sermon, titled "The Little Church Member, where I mentioned that we, as adults, must correct our children and the younger generation, to show them the way. A few of the youth in our church were offended at my words. You should have seen their faces as they walked past me on their way out the front door that night. They are really bad to talk, whisper, laugh, and generally distract during our worship services. It is the subject of much discussion and discontent among our members. After going back and listening to that sermon, I realized that I neglected to mention the main reason we needed to correct them...read on...

My studies have led me through many passages of Scripture. Beginning in Deuteronomy 6:7, going through Proverbs 19:18, touching on Job 5:17, and all the way to Revelation 3:19. It was during this study time that I got to thinking about my own life and my own father. I have written hundreds of times of my childhood growing up. I came from a pretty structured home. We were Christian people and faithful church attenders. My true blood family members consisted of my mother, father, my older sister Pam, my younger sister Jennifer, and of course myself. That was our family for the first 12-years of my life, which is where I draw most of my memories from. We later adopted my brother Josh.

My sister, Pam, was the oldest, and it seemed that she never did anything wrong. She was always scared to do anything contrary to what our parent's told us. Always obedient (well, except when she refused to eat some peas one time and caused a brief moment of grief at the supper table.) I can't recall Pam ever getting a whipping when we were growing up. Perhaps she did, but I don't remember it. Then there was Jenny. She was the youngest. She was born with many health problems and was always having to receive treatments. Seems like we were always driving downtown to get Jenny's allergy shots or something. She used to sit on dad's lap and he would just love on her and act like she was the best thing in the world. Pam and I were a little jealous of this and we would whisper to each other about our little spoiled brat of a sister. Jenny was 4-years younger than me, and 7-years younger than Pam. So, while Pam and I were forced to do household chores, Jenny would be enjoying a life of leisure, or at least that's the way it seemed to us. Then there was me...

I was the middle child. I was born during a difficult time in my parent's lives. In my early years, Dad was attending college at UT during the day, and mom was working 2nd shift at Levis during the evening. I know it was difficult on my dad to have to take care of me while mom was working. I'm sure the last thing he wanted to put up with after being in school all day and trying to study, was a crying, pooping, peeing little boy.

My school age years, 5-11, were the most trying on my parent's. While I had a good heart, I was also very mischievous. I liked to push things as far as I possibly could to see what I could get by with. This led to much correction from my father. Seems like I was getting whipped on a daily basis. You would think I would eventually learn my lesson and walk the straight and narrow, but not me. To say I was hard-headed is a major understatement. All of this resulted in a well calloused hind-end. I wish I had a dollar for every time my dad whipped me. I could retire and live the life of luxury!

So, having said all of the above, I think you'll have to agree with me that my father must have loved me more than the rest. Because it says in Proverbs 3:12 - "For whom the LORD loveth he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth." The part though that I have to keep remembering is in Hebrews 12:11 - "Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."

The moral of all of this as both children of earthly parent's and children of the Heavenly Father, is found in Ephesians 6:1-3 - "Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." -Amen!