Reflection on my Birthday: Getting Older - Growing Wiser! Really?

Reflections on my Birthday:  Getting Older – Growing Wiser!  Really?

“Happy Birthday Daddy! I love you so much! I am so proud to call you MY Dad! I look up to you so much. You are the most determined, godly and loving guy that I know! I am so proud of you working so hard with Haven! I love seeing you doing what you do best, loving and serving the church. Thanks for always being there for me! I don’t know where I would be if I didn’t have you in my life! Love, Kylie”

I’m sure many of you have received birthday wishes similar to the one I received from my daughter this year. I read words like this from her and am humbled. I know I fail in many ways, but even in my shortcomings God chooses to use the work He is doing in my life to somehow encourage others. I can’t imagine a better gift than to see that my life is being used by God for an eternal purpose. Any of us parents, and especially those of us who are in the daily challenges of pastoring, feel so humbled and grateful when our children (and those we shepherd) want to follow God rather than live for the pleasures of a temporary world, become bitter about their upbringing, or simply disillusioned with Jesus or His church. Believe me, Pam and I walk along side many parents and pastors who have a very different story!

There has been a lot that has challenged me and changed as I grow older.  Here are a few thoughts from a very long list of things the Lord has been revealing to me.

·      I used to have a lot of opinions that I knew were right!  I now have a few convictions I believe deeply - shift from insecure dogmatism or arrogant defensiveness to a quiet confidence. God uses the humble, broken and weak to show His glory!

·      I thought I was a great guy since the outside stuff looked good, but God has graciously given me a glimpse into what He sees on the inside.  “Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart!”

·      I thought Pam was getting quite the deal when we got married, only to realize that God graciously gave me someone I did not deserve! She has truly modeled the character of Jesus to me.

I’m beginning to understand what a wise old sage told me when I was in college.  “God does His greatest work in us during the first half of our lives and does His greatest work through our lives during the second half of our lives.”  Though this is not true for everyone, I do believe that Pam’s and my most fruitful years are right around the corner and most joyful years will be in eternity!  When I coached and played basketball I realized that you never win the game in the first half.  That is also why genuinely good philosophers, poets, presidents and pastors are usually older and do their best work in the last half of their lives.  It takes a relatively short amount of time to accumulate knowledge and skill, but a lifetime of struggle to gain wisdom and maturity!