| They Call Me Grandpa |
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 I ring the doorbell and three small children answered the door, all yelling
"GRANDPA!"My doorbell rings and when I opened it there were two small children yelling "GRANDPA!" The phone rings, I pick it up and hear a small child yelling "HI GRANDPA!" What fun!!!!! I now have ten grandchildren and they all call me Grandpa. Grandpa! What a wonderful name that is. It is music to my ears. I love it when they call me Grandpa. I feel better when they call me Grandpa or refer to me in a conversation as Grandpa. The only thing better is when they come running at me with arms wide open to hug me and at the same time calling "Grandpa" with a wonderful sense of joy in their voice. It makes my heart soar. However, let's also be realistic. Being a Grandpa is a huge responsibility but one I gladly take on. "What responsibility?" you ask. If I am Grandpa, then I am not a parent, not a school teacher or a Sunday School teacher. But I am a teacher of many things. And being Grandpa means I must be totally trustworthy and totally honest. I have vowed to never lie to any grandchild. I may not tell them the entire story because it may not be appropriate, but I will never lie to them. Once, several years ago, I told a "white lie" and my oldest Granddaughter caught me. It was then I realized that I could not, would not ever tell a lie, not even a "white lie," to my grandchildren. Consequently, my grandchildren know I will never lie to them, that they are totally safe with me, that I will never hurt them and that I will do my best to have fun with them and to let them have fun with me. I may even spoil them a little from time to time. <grin> As I was thinking about how great being called Grandpa makes me feel, I got to thinking about what we call God and Jesus and how it must make them feel. I remember something that really struck me in Mel Gibson's movie "The Passion of Christ". The people around Jesus called Him "Lord." But they didn't say it the way you and I might say it. We tend to say it like we're talking to royalty -- a little stilted, holding Him at arm's length. In the movie it was said with great love, tenderness and closeness. In fact, if they had used the word "Love" instead of the word "Lord", it would have sounded the same. Haven't you ever referred to someone close to you as "Love?" They used "Lord" the same way. Do you suppose Jesus likes to be called "Lord" as much as I like to be called "Grandpa?" Maybe even more? And what about all those other wonderful names the Bible tells us we can call him? I once counted over 100 names for Jesus from the Bible. The Old Testament especially is full of many, many wonderful names for God, here are just a few with their Hebrew version:
On the other side of this discussion are two big problems.
So what have I learned from being Grandpa? I think I've learned that God wants us to run towards Him with our arms wide open, totally trusting and calling him Lord, Father, Love or one the many other wonderful names for Him. |
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"Do not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name." (Exodus 20:7 NLT) "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given:
and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of
Peace." (Isaiah 9:6 KJV) "It would be better to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around the neck than to face the punishment in store for harming one of these little ones." (Luke 17:2 NLT) |
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| My Father, my Love, my God, I'm beginning to understand that a wonderful relationship between grandpas and their grandchildren is only a small taste of the relationship you want to have with me. Come into my life today. Help me to trust completely in you as I run towards you with my arms wide open in love of you. Amen. | |
Questions for consideration...
Footnote: This chapter is about Grandpas because I'm a Grandpa but I know Grandmas say the same thing. |
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