Monday, September 12, 2011

A Truly High Position!

This past weekend, I took my son, Logan (age 7 if you don't know him) up north to my in-laws cabin to go fishing.  It was just the two of us on an overnight trip.  Pretty special time for both of us!  I had been fishing on Houghton Lake previously this summer and found a few holes that produces plenty of good-sized walleye, bluegills, and even a smallmouth bass.  We were pretty excited as we cruised across the lake in the cool of the morning.  Before long, we were rather hot under the clear sky with not a single fish in the boat.  We tried moving to other spots, but we still couldn't get a fish to bite.  Finally, Logan saw my bobber dip into the water indicating a bite.  He grabbed my pole and pulled in a small perch.  We were excited to have at least caught one fish, and I kept waiting for him to want to be done fishing.  He didn't ask to stop, and he seemed to completely enjoy the time alone on the boat.  He was happy, but I was a bit frustrated.  I wanted to find some fish for him, and I wanted him to find our trip "successful" as fishermen.  After four hours, we headed back to the cabin.  As we pulled up to the dock, Logan's words hit me pretty hard:  "It was a great day fishing, and at least I caught one."  I  realized at that moment that the real value was being father and son, not great fishermen.  He focused on being together as I tried to find him some fish.  We talked, joked, laughed, taught, learned, dared, and wondered together on that boat.  I was humbled as a fisherman, but I was reminded of my high position as Logan's dad.  Being a dad is a much higher position in life than a good fisherman.  That's true for all parents.  That's also true for all Christians with our Heavenly Father.  James 1:9 reminded me of this:  "The brother in humble circumstances ought to take pride in his high position."  (NOTE:  This refers to our status as Christians having a high position due to our acknowledgement of our sin and forgiveness.)

Family Discussion Points!

Talk together about humbling events in your life:  losing a job, getting cut from a team, getting a poor grade, getting embarrassed, etc.

Think of as many "high positions" as you can in worldly terms:  president, boss, etc.

Think of as many "high positions" as you can in Godly terms:  forgiven sinner, child, Father, Mother, Friend, etc.

Talk about how to remind each other as a family of what is important and what is not.