Have you ever met someone and pegged them for who they are simply by their style? I don’t mean clothes style, I mean their demeanor. Let me give you an example. Today, I was able to have a conversation with a guy who when he talked he had surfer guy voice down pat. Very laid back, chill, clothes were those of comfort not necessarily the lastest fad. When you think of a surfer guy, the first thought usually isn’t someone who’s thoughts are very deep and logical. I really should have asked him if he was from Florida, but our conversation got deeper than I expected it to.

It started off by me asking him if he has a certain style of music he liked listening to? He replied; with a very surfer guy attitude, “nahh, I’m good with whatever man.” Then he said, “what kind of music do you listen to?” I replied, mostly listen to Christian music, but it’s so awesome now because there are so many different genres (styles) out now that I don’t ever get bored with it!” Simply by opening up to show him I was a follower of Christ in that statement, allowed him to talk to me about some pretty important things. As we got further into our conversation he started telling me about his 16 year old boy who is claiming there is no God, and that we are all a form of evolution. His child got into some trouble at school and the probation officer actually sentenced him to 20 hours of community service…. in a church! The older guy was ecstatic! He looks up and says “man I still can’t thank you enough for that one!” I fed off his excitement because I could tell it was something he really wanted for his child. Not because he wants to force a religion down his throat, but because he can see the road his child is going down and he desires better for him. His child was getting in trouble for skipping classes and getting high. The road this kid is choosing is hard, it’s terrible to see someone you love decide for themselves to take a road like this.

So he begins telling me more about the probation officer and how he seems to be getting through to him. One thing he said to me really seemed to stick out. He said the probation officer asked the boy why he felt it was okay to disrespect his teacher by skipping? The probation officer pointed out that by not showing up to class it becomes disrespect, because these teachers have spent a ton of money and time getting their degrees for YOU. It’s what he said next that stuck out most. He said the probation officer said to the kid, “you gotta change the way your mind thinks, change your focus.” In other words, take your mind off how horrible it is that you are being “forced” to go to school, and think about others. Think about what they went through just so you could have an opportunity. The older guy told me, this is the only statement that has seemed to get through to him. He can see small changes, not miraculous ones, but it’s those small changes that give him hope.

I want to tell you, that if you are in a situation that you see your child choosing a harder road than they need to, continue to pray for them and love them. This older guy said his son has told him numerous times how much he literally hates his dad.  Yet Dad is still there for him. He said “that’s all I can do, just love him man, and then wait for him to see it.”

While writing this, I see something else in this story. Our Heavenly Father does the same thing for us. We go around rejecting him often, and He always seems to be there. The love he has for us compares to the love this dad has for his son and the love the dad has for his son, should be the love we show those who are not Christ followers.

PRAYER: 

It’s amazing how you place reminders in our lives daily on how we should love like you love. Thank you for continually loving us even when we honestly don’t deserve it. Please continue to teach us to love like you. In Jesus name. -Amen