Letters From Grandpa #71

• LETTERS FROM GRANDPA
• 71

Dearest Grandchild,

Today’s letter will focus on a very familiar passage of Scripture. “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.” (Prov 22:6)

There are at least two ways to understand this Scripture:

1. Train a child to love God, read the Bible, pray every day, and always do what is right. Even though that child may temporarily depart from this training, when they are old they will inevitably return to the way they have been trained. This is true! This is the way we tried to “train” your parents, and I’m sure this is the way your parents have tried to “train” you. It is our ardent prayer that you will never permanently depart from the foundation of faith with which you have been trained by your parents.

2. Another truth embedded in this verse, however, is to train up a child in the way that HE should go. Each of you is unique and it is important that you be allowed to develop the special gift that God has given you. We parents sometimes suffer from the regrets of our own childhood. This can lead us to try and vicariously live out our own dreams in the lives of our children. So the father who never made it to the big leagues may seek to coerce his son to play baseball. The mother who always dreamed of being an actress may seek to mold and shape her daughter into fulfilling her own fantasies. It is important for every parent to train every child in the way that HE should go.

Granny and I have tried to accomplish both aspects of this verse of Scripture. As you know, all of our five children are Christians and are seeking to serve the Lord Jesus Christ. We have encouraged each, however, to answer God’s specific call upon their lives. John began his college education with plans to be a doctor, but later felt the call of God to be a preacher. David dreamed of being a concert pianist, but felt instead that God wanted him to be a lawyer, and then a judge. Mary is married to a preacher but is best known for being a home schooling mother of seven whose art work has been enjoyed by people all over the world. Steve began in Bible College but felt that God wanted him to be an aerospace engineer. Paul seemed destined from a very early age to work in politics and to serve God by helping godly men to be elected to public office.

The point is: “whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col 3:17) It doesn’t matter to me what you do in life, as long as you are obedient to God’s unique call in your life!

Take, for example, the story of Dame Gillian Barbara Lynne. She was born 20 February 1926) and for the first part of her life was having so much trouble in school that her mother took her to the doctor to see what was wrong. Because she was underperforming in academics it was logical to assume that there was something wrong with her. The doctor wisely recognized that her gift was dancing and not academics. When her parents trained her in the way that SHE should go, she became a famous ballerina, dancer, choreographer, actress, and theater/television director. In

particular, she is famous for orchestrating the choreography associated with the musical Cats. She was also involved in what became the current longest running show in Broadway history, The Phantom of the Opera.

Here is a brief video clip explaining how her mother decided to train Gillian Lynne in the way that SHE should go.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-PoTRsX5o_k

God is a God of infinite variety. There are billions of stars and every one is unique. The Scriptures are explicit: “The sun has one kind of splendor, the moon another and the stars another; and star differs from star in splendor” (1 Cor 15:41)

There are also billions of people on the earth. Each one of us is also unique. We have our own fingerprints, voice print, eye scan, and facial features. Many scientists have concluded that even the shape of your ears is unique the unique and is actually a more accurate identifier than finger prints. It was God Who formed you in your mother’s womb and it is God Who has given you your own special gift to be used for His glory.

One Bible word for “gift” is “charisma”, from which we get our English word “charismatic”. The root of this word is “chara” which is the Bible word for “joy”. There are an infinite number of gifts that God gives to His children, and each of them produces joy. If God calls you to be a dancer, you will experience joy unspeakable and full of glory when you exercise that gift.

Seven “charasmatic” gifts are listed in Romans 12:3 - 8. They are: prophesying, serving, teaching, encouraging, contributing, leading, and showing mercy. Perhaps God has given you one of these “gifts” and by developing it and using it for His glory you will find “joy unspeakable and full of glory”.

I love you,

Grandpa Boyce