Imagining if my dad had not been Born Again

Like George Bailey, Jimmy Stewart’s character in It’s a Wonderful Life, so much would be different if my dad had not been BORN AGAIN.

When my dad stumbled into a tiny Nazarene church 64 years ago and subsequently met Jesus, he was a high school dropout, auto-working, alcoholic and with three kids and a wife who wanted a divorce.

How would the world be different had my dad not met Jesus? Where do I begin?

My parents would have been divorced.I never would have been born.Karla would be married probably to some rich tycoon that she met when working in the airlines (she might have been richer, but not happier).No Alex. No Ben. No Conrad.None of the people that I have met and helped as a pastor would be at the same place. Jesus would have sent someone to those folks (He is faithful) but it would have been different.Would my sisters have been as successful as they were? Probably not. They certainly wouldn’t have met their spouses. Pam met Lloyd in church. Beth met Jon at Olivet.My brother, most certainly, would not have become a preacher; not met his wife, Teri, they met at Olivet too; and not have helped all the people he was able to aid throughout his ministry and life.Same is true for all of my parents’ grandkids from my siblings (all went to Olivet).Probably my dad would have died young because of his alcoholism—like his parents and grandparents and great grandparents before him.My mom, with just a high school diploma and three little kids, would have had a difficult life as a single mom. She too didn’t know Jesus at the time, who knows what kind of career or job she might have been able to get.We all know the tragedies of the unhealthy mix of poverty, fatherless homes, and alcoholism. My family would probably have landed square in the middle of that whole statistical mess.

It’s hard to imagine all that would be different had my dad not made the best decision of his life to follow Jesus after visiting that little Nazarene church.

As we recognize dads this weekend, I can’t help but appreciate the Holy Spirit’s prevenient grace extended to my dad that led him to a church on a Sunday night 64 years ago. I’m thankful that he looked at his life and knew changes needed to be made. I’m so glad for the prayer he mumbled out by his bedside that night (Remember: the power of prayer is in the One who hears the prayer, not the one who prays the prayer). I’m so incredibly thankful that Jesus saved my dad! Without that happening so many lives would be different today.

Dads, your decisions make a difference. They affect more than you. Like my dad so long ago, make godly, faithful choices. You will not regret it! Neither will your kids!

Happy Father’s Day!