Fatherhood is a great challenge and a great joy! Life has certainly changed. I love his smiles and sounds. There will be many challenges ahead, but they will all be worth it in the end.
Maddox, in closing, I want you to live into a story that is bigger than most people live into. Many people settle for small dreams like the "American Dream." Most of our dreams are selfish. We want to become something big.
But God is begging for you to take on his story. He wants you to find your story within the pages of Scripture and join the heroes of faith on their journey with God.
Just this week I was preaching on Hebrews 11 & 12. We often call this passage the "Hall of Faith." We focus on the idea that all of the people in Hebrews 11 had great faith. And at the end of chapter 11, the passage conludes with this statement,
These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect.
Wow! I've always read Hebrews 12:1-3, as a passage focusing on the cloud of witnesses that surrounds us and cheers us on our journey, but the end of chapter 11 says something entirely different. Somehow, we are actually the ones who are making their story perfect. Only together with us, can God's story be completed as he desires it. God has graciously written us into his unfolding narrative and we are there alongside Abraham, Moses, and all of the rest of the heroes in Hebrews 11.
Maddox, don't accept a plotline that is too small. God has given you to this world for greatness. He desires to write you into his incredible story. So, dream big, get to know Scripture well, jump into the Bible's story and live like there's no tomorrow (knowing that there is an eternal city that will one day wait on you.)
I love you son!
