A Beginning or An End...You Choose!

I love pre-schoolers! They are so open and they are like little sponges, ready to soak up life and learning. I guess that is why this week has been a very special week. In the area where I live, almost without exception, it has been the first week of school. It also was Promotion Sunday at our church. I had the opportunity to observe a brand new group of Kindergarteners who experienced a deluge of "firsts" in their lives this week. It was the first time many of them attended the adult worship service and on the following Monday, most of these same children were entering a neighborhood elementary school for the very first time as a student! I can easily predict what happened almost universally in kindergarten classes across the country!

There were a few tears...more shed by Moms and Dads than by children. There were lots of smiles and giggles and a few anxious moments, but all in all the transition from "baby" to child went smoothly. As I thought about it, I remembered back to a time more than 25 years ago, when my little girl and later my son both had their first day experience. At the time, I recall thinking that somehow this was the end of something and it somehow made me sad to be sending those two little ones out into a world that could be dangerous and scary. However, mostly I was sad for me, because I knew that this was only the beginning of what would become a long period ending finally when they completed college and "were on their own." Being a parent is one of the few tasks in life where you practice your skills over and over and when you finally get the hang of it, you find yourself standing on the curb waving and watching your child drive away to follow their dreams!

As I thought more about it this week, though, I realized that as with most things in life, the end of one thing lead to the beginning of another. And with the end of "babyhood" begins a time when that "baby" is learning to interact with others and is hopefully learning about the love of a God who knows them individually and personally! It is the beginning of "the turning loose process" and just like the butterfly, until that child turns from the captive caterpillar to the beautiful butterfly, he or she is not what God intends for them to be! So, Mom and Dad, do you want to see the first day of school as the end of you "baby" or will it be the beginning of a life filled with learning and growing into the person that walks with God and yes, that becomes not only your child, but your friend! You get to choose, but I offer one more inducement for you if you are still uncertain...eventually those children will grow up and nothing you can do will stop that, but when they are grown up they give you grandchildren! So, think about it ...and you choose!

How Many People Do You Know In Heaven?

One of the top-selling novels several years ago was titled "The Five People You Meet In Heaven", by Mitch Albom. I will confess to having never read the novel and to having no great insight into Mr. Albom's theology. However, the title is intriguing on it's own! Last night, I was reminded of the title to the book, when our pastor, Chad Selph, was talking about a funeral he was preparing to conduct. He made the statement that as he looked at his life, he had begun to realize that in the not too distant future, he would know more people in heave than he knew on earth. As I returned home, I realized he was right. Over the past 55 years, I have had the privilege to know and love more people than I could ever have deserved. These people have had a profound impact on my life, as I hope I have had on theirs. However, as I contemplate the people I have known, I realize that many of these people have gone from this life to the next and that Chad was right...I might know more people in heaven that here on earth! As I thought about this, some of those people were drawn to my mind. I thought I would share a few of those people that I am looking forward to seeing on that day that I journey from this earthly life and into the next.

One of the people I know in heaven and I look forward to seeing is my grandfather, G. E. Miller. He was my Papaw and I have missed him everyday since that day in August of 1973. He took me to my first State Fair of Texas and fed me my first Fletcher's corny dog! He took me on my first fishing trip and always let me drive the boat. He made the best chili ever made and he always ate it with Hydrox cookies (for the uninitiated that was Texas-made cookie that was exactly like an Oreo...only better!) But the main thing he did for me was to show me how a grandfather should love his grandson. I want to see him and tell him all about my wife, Anita and his great grandchildren, Alicia, Mark, Tim and Meghan. I want to tell him about his great-great grandsons, Mark and Luke and watch him smile when he hears all about them.

I will also get to see a man named Jerry Ray. Jerry was an evangelist who had a heart for lost people and for discipling God's people. He is the man who lead me to the Lord. Jerry died when before he was forty years old and left a family and friends to ask why. I still don't know the answer to that question, but I know the God who holds that answer and all others and I trust Him. I want to tell Jerry thank you!

I'll get to see a little girl named Kristen Kirk. Kristen only lived a few short years, but she touched the lives of an entire church and community. Her trust in a God she knew was waiting for her shamed all of us. At the end of her life she met her Savior with open arms. I have always prayed for the same grace we saw in Kristen and I want to tell her how much we all loved her.

There are so many others that I will see again. There will also be others who come after I am gone. However, the one person I look forward to seeing more than anyone else is my Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! I doubt that I will even have words to speak at that moment. I want to touch His hands and look into His face and know that I will spend eternity with Him!

As I think about it, I realize that the real objective in our lives should be to tell the good news of Jesus Christ to as many lost people as we can while we are here. And if you think about it, that will only increase the number of people you know in Heaven! So, who do you know in heaven?