Sonship

Sonship (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

Galatians 4:7

“Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.”

The greatest memory I have from my childhood was the love and acceptance my parents showed to me, but particularly my dad. He included me in his life to the point that I considered him my best friend. He was a very humble man, and we didn’t have much in the way of material things like others had, but there was never a time when my sister and I ever considered ourselves as poor.

My dad worked for a local laundry company as a delivery driver, and whenever I was not in school, I was with him on that truck. He showed me a picture of me when I was less than one year old, sitting in the driver’s seat leaning on the steering wheel.

My parents dealt in antiques for some extra income, and dad named his business Klink & Son Antiques.

He loved to fish, and whenever we could we would go to a small lake owned by one of his friends and just spend time together fishing and talking. I saw how my dad conducted himself with others. He taught me honesty, which was a hard thing for me to learn, but he never made me feel unwanted, even when it was very clear that I had failed. While he was my best friend, he was always my dad. His words of instruction were very meaningful to me, and were never in doubt.

As I grew older, I enlisted in the Navy, and was away from home for the first time in my life. After I returned home my mom told me how much my dad missed me, and looked forward to my letters. My greatest fear upon returning home was that I would bring some of the bad habits I had allowed into my life to pollute that wonderful relationship, and it was that fear that caused me to leave all of that stuff behind.

Too often we fail to see the loving relationship we have with God through Jesus Christ. We see ourselves as merely servants who must obey the Master instead of sons of a loving Father. I didn’t earn my dad’s love, but simply enjoyed it. We can’t earn God’s love, but as sons we are to simply enjoy it, and allow it to guide our lives.