As you near the beginning of your sixth decade of life on this planet, if you are awake, if you are thinking, if you are looking beyond the mundane facts of existence, you start thinking about not only what you are going to leave behind as a testimony to the grace of Christ given to you in this life, but what is going to face your children and your children’s children. You may have noticed that I often speak of what kind of world my grandchildren will face, what kinds of challenges will be theirs if, in the grace of God, He draws them to Himself and they seek to be faithful witnesses to the gospel of grace. Of course, I will soon turn 50, and I don’t have any grandchildren!
Well, actually, as of today, I can finally let the world know that, in fact, by the blessing of God, and in His timing, my daughter, my youngest child, is expecting her first child herself, sometime around Christmas! I’ve had the good news for a number of weeks now, and maybe, just maybe, the term “grandchildren” has snuck into my sermons and DL broadcasts a bit more often as a result, who knows? But in any case, if the Lord is gracious to this little one and grants a safe and healthy delivery, I will get to experience the thrill of holding a newborn, born to my youngest child! Talk about another way the Lord has of making sure you know “eternity is coming, redeem the time, nurture a heart of wisdom to present to the Lord, for you will see Him soon.” Of course, if the Lord grants me long life, I cannot even imagine what it would be like to see that child’s children! My dad, Lord willing, will be seeing that great-grandchild around Christmas time.
So I am thrilled for Thaddeus and Summer, and very proud to have been the one who got to perform their wedding ceremony just last July. Who knows? Maybe I will be showing a video clip 20 years from now showing a young grandchild in the front row watching a debate, just as I show a clip that has Summer sitting down front at one of my debates from 1999. That would be a great blessing indeed.
