‘One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him. When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.’ Mark 10:13-16(NLT)
Each summer our family takes several days and serves at a home for adults with mental disabilities. The days are filled with lots of hard work. Mostly chores and handyman projects, whatever is needed. We enjoy serving together and over the years have become friends with many of the residents.
Mealtime is always a blast. It’s filled with conversation, laughter, and good food. Often the residents will share stories. They usually relate humorous or exciting situations in which they have found themselves. We love hearing the stories about their lives and experiences.
One resident told us about a time when a group of them went to a large supercenter store to pick up some personal care items. As several of them stood in the checkout line, another customer loudly made some demeaning and vulgar comments toward the group. They were stunned and didn’t know what to do.
The store manager had heard the comments, and in the blink of an eye he stepped up and confronted the abusive customer. He simply asked him to leave and not return. At this point in the story all of the residents cheered. To this day, the manager is their hero.
As a dad, there will be times when you need to step up and defend someone, maybe even your own son. It’s important you are already a praying dad prior to this, or you’ll be tempted to overreact.
Jesus went against the prevailing mindset of His day. He rejected the idea that children were not to be seen or heard from. He welcomed them and when the adults scolded the kids, Jesus was indignant and defended them.
Are you prepared to step up and sensibly defend your son? Is he in a situation now where you’d be wise to step in and provide some cover? Do you need to get in between him and danger?
PRAY you will be aware of situations where you need to defend your son.
PRAY you’ll do this in a mature, wise, God-honoring manner.
from Becoming A Praying Father