October 23, 1998

Dear Friends,

We were on our way to the circus . . . me and a car filled with young boys . . . my son . . . his friends who all lived within six houses of our house . . . played at our house . . . ate hot, homemade cookies in our house . . . and . . . brought their skinned knees to our house (I kept a large box of bandaids!). It was like having five sons instead of only one. . . . In fact, often I’d say, "Hello, number two son" to this one . . . or "How’s my number three son?" to that one. They were friends . . . excited about being together . . . excited about the circus . . . excited about life . . . On this particular day a rather animated discussion erupted among the boys. They were attempting to establish the order of their "son-ship". . . I heard comments like "I’m number two." Followed by "No, I’m number two . . . You’re number three."

*****

The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God: And if children, then theirs; heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ . . .

(Romans 8:16,17 KJV)

When we profess the Lord Jesus Christ as our Savior and make him Lord of our lives, we are adopted as children of God (cf. Romans 8:23). God, as our heavenly Father, provides for us with even greater love with than that of our earthly fathers. . . . HOW WONDERFUL! Matthew, the disciple, understood this. In his gospel (Matthew 6:24-34), he eloquently expresses God’s care and concern for us. Matthew writes: ". . .Take no thought [don’t worry] for your life, what ye shall eat or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. . . . (Matthew 6:25)." In verses 26 and 28, Matthew reminds us of God’s provisions for the "fowls of the air" and the "lilies of the field." And then, in verse 32 Matthew gives this assurance, ". . . your heavenly Father knows you have need of these things." God will provide . . . for . . . we are his children.

*****

The issue of "son-ship" was settled when Wesley spoke up. He said, "Michael [my son] is the "number one" son. I am the "number two" son because she met me first. You are number three - and so on and so forth - until he had established a consensus among them. The discussion was over . . . The circus lay ahead . . . The boys were content. They knew that no matter when they had entered my life . . . I loved them and they were "my children."

In the Master’s Love,

The Preacher,

Rev. BWilliamsWaters,