Since yesterday I wrote about what we are learning from our daughter, today it is appropriate for me to write about what I am learning from and through my son. Wyatt is all boy. He loves baseball, basketball, football, bike riding, and dirt. He is just like his daddy which can make for frustrating interactions as I look into myself twenty-five years ago. I think he is more compassionate than I’ve ever been and I pray that as he ages, his compassion grows rather than wanes. I also pray that he will soon find Christ as his Savior.
Children are good for us. Paul tells us that marriage sanctifies, and we know that children sanctify us as well. Recently after one of Wyatt’s baseball practices, I put him in the truck and had a conversation with his coach. We discussed hitting, fielding, and our common frustrations with our local recreation department. We talked about the kids who were improving and the kids who needed the most attention. Then, I got in the truck and left.
Wyatt, of course wanted to know what we had talked about. His little ears worked diligently to listen in, but he was only able to catch bits and pieces of the conversation, so he asked, “why did he point at me” and “when did he say my first game is going to be?” Then, out of the blue God brought conviction from my son: “Daddy, were you talking to my coach about Christ?” My silence in the truck was palpable at that moment and I was forced to respond, “No, son, I wasn’t.”
Wyatt doesn’t yet know Jesus, and yet, he seems to get it better than I do at times. He knows that one of our goals as a family is to use sports to share the gospel with others. He has heard leaders in our children’s ministry emphasize evangelism through sports, and his assumption was that his daddy had gotten the message. I dropped the ball. We need to have the conversations that matter. Baseball is good, but it is a passing experience for children. Christ is eternal. God has given us children to raise to know and fear Him, and yet in His wisdom and grace He is also using them to teach us. What are you talking about? Are you talking to coaches about Christ? Are you talking to your kids about Christ (more than about fielding ground balls)? He is, after all, what matters most.
