Sending Sons

It has been over a week now since we dropped Nathan off at college. Thank you to all of you that have asked about him or contacted him. He seems to be loving it, and that helps the transition. It has been tough on me. In fact, I have described Nathan as my right hand. Perhaps God providentially provided a trip to Polishing the Pulpit and a van that was not working properly to keep me distracted from the emotion of it all. As I type this, my allergies must be acting up as my eyes want to water up. It is the right thing. He needs to spread his wings and fly. We have been preparing him for this all his life. The right thing can still be hard. We believe he is in a good place. A place where we know people and have friends. A place we believe cares about him, and we are thankful for that. In fact, in the times we have talked to him, he has confirmed these facts. That makes it easier.

It would be hard for me if we were taking him to a place that cared nothing for him or hated him. That is what the Father allowed Jesus to do. John 1:11 tells us His own did not receive Him. In fact, Jesus tells a parable in Matthew 21:33-46 about vine-growers killing the son of the landowner which was a reference to what the Jews were going to do to Jesus. That parable came true when the Jewish leaders arrested Jesus, turned Him in to the Romans, and demanded His death which was carried out on a cross. Why? Because of some sin Jesus was guilty of? No. Because of sin that I am guilty of. I find it hard to imagine sending Nathan to a place that would hate and kill him. But that is what the Father did because He loves His lost creation (John 3:16). Praise God for His love and sacrifice

The idea for this article came from an article I read in A Legacy of Faith email.