Jump Start # 1886

Proverbs 17:6 “Grandchildren are the crown of old men, and the glory of sons is their fathers.”

A special note to our Jump Start readers: This Jump Start is very personal and dear to me. It is my words to my father on his 92nd birthday, which is today. Dad does not have access to my Jump Starts, so I have given this to him. I share these with you, with the hopes that you find some value in them.

Happy birthday, Dad. You are 92 years old today! What a blessing that is. I have thought a long time about what to get you for your birthday. Through the years I have found some special and unique gifts for you. I have given you books and commentary sets. You have fancy ties and happy socks from me. I arranged a few years ago to have the flag flown above the U.S. Capitol on July 6th sent to you. Last year, I got you a pen that was made from the original Constitution Elm tree when Indiana was being formed as a state back in the early 1800’s. I thought and thought about what to get you this year. You have more books than the county library. I remembered when I was a boy, that I used to draw you a homemade birthday card. I never was very good at drawing, but God has gifted me with the ability to string some words together that seems to touch many hearts. A big part of my life these past few years has been writing these Jump Starts. My gift to you this year, is a Jump Start written just for you.

I know you love me and I love you. I enjoy our phone calls when I coming home from work. We always seem to get cut off at the same spot outside of Lanesville. I want you to know how much you mean to me. As this verse states, “the glory of sons is their fathers.” This is so true for me. Your sweet manner, easy laugh and joy of life has endeared you to all of us. You are the hero of my family and especially to me. The choices you made in your life has made it so easy for me to follow the Lord and be used in His kingdom.

I am still amazed that you as a high school graduate went off to a far away world to fight in World War II. That was so courageous! I don’t know if I could have done that. Your determination to go to college, the first in your family, opened doors for all of your children. I look at what you have done, and I hope that my choices have been as helpful to my children.

Thank you for allowing me half way through college, to switch majors, change schools and chase this dream of being a preacher. It is getting close to four decades that I have been preaching. I have been to a lot of places all over this country and I have been in many homes, teaching and showing people the grand promises of God. I don’t think any of this would have been possible without your support and help. One of my fondest joys was when Jordan and I got to preach together at your home congregation last year. I have a picture of the three of us that I keep in my Bible.

You have shown us an incredible example of faith and courage. It has been twenty-two years since mom passed away. You have lived on your own all this time. This has not soured you nor made you bitter. You have remained true to God and kind in spirit and that has helped all of us through these years. I know you miss mom and I cannot imagine what it has been like for you, but I hope the love of the family has helped fill that emptiness in your heart.

I am thankful that you have gotten to see five of your grandchildren married. You even walked down the isle with Sarah, you on one side and me on the other. You have gotten to hold seven of your great grandchildren. Your legacy and spirit lives on in them. I see the love of books, the love of American history and the heart of a servant in all of your grandchildren, which I first saw in you. You taught us to work hard, be honest and to be helpful. You are strong, generous, thoughtful and noble. These principles live on in each of us.

You are now rounding third base and heading home. Your knees hurt, your memory is fading and your voice is no longer strong. We both know that our time here is limited. I am thankful that you have such incredible faith in the Lord. God has been good to you. You have walked with the Lord for a long, long time. You are blessed by Him. He has and will take care of you. Heaven will be yours. I expect you’ll see mom again. Won’t that be glorious! She’ll probably say, “Where have you been?” You have lived well. You have done well. You will always be dear to our hearts.

On this day, your birthday, my greatest gift I can give you is to say that I am so honored to be one of your sons. You have set the standard high for all of us to follow. We are blessed because of you. We are a better people because of you. You have made an incredible impact on our lives. You are and always will be our glory.

Thank you, for being my dad.

Happy birthday!

Love, Roger

P.S. I went ahead and got you another gift.

Jump Start # 694

Proverbs 17:6 Grandchildren are the crown of old men, And the glory of sons is their fathers.

We continue our brief look at passages about grandparents. This is a fun study but it ought to also be revealing, eye opening, and challenging, as each study of the Bible is. One thing we are doing is illustrating the many varieties of ways to study the Bible. The most obvious way is to go through a book of the Bible, looking at words, context and purpose. For some, that is the only way they ever study. Use your imagination some and find some fascinating ways to study. For instance, I once studied the questions asked of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark and how He answered them. That led to another study, the questions that Jesus asked, and how the crowd answered Him. Another study, also in Mark, was to recognize the reaction of the crowds to Jesus. Another study focused upon what Jesus referred to Himself, what did He call Himself. Those studies open your eyes and teach you things.

Our verse today tells us that grandchildren are the crown of old men. We don’t see many crowns on heads in our country. Usually the fair queen is about the only time we see a crown. We give rings and trophies to our victors. There was a time when crowns were worn by kings, generals and those who won contests. The first Olympians wore a crown of garland on their heads. Crowns are symbols of dignity, honor and prestige. This is what grandchildren are to old men, the grandparents.

• When King Saul was killed in battle, his crown was returned to David.
• The royal crown was placed upon Esther’s head
• The Psalmist says that God crowned man with glory and majesty
• The virtuous wife is a crown to her husband
• A gray head is a crown of glory
• Jesus wore a crown of thorns
• A crown awaited the apostle Paul at the end of his life

Grandchildren are a crown of old men. Here are some things I have noticed in life. Parents often sigh and seem stressed out with their kids. Grandparents smile. Parents worry about who their kids are hanging out with, whether they are eating right and doing their homework. Grandparents smile. It seems that by the time you get to grandparent status, you are allowed to play, take naps, spill your food, and not be too worried about things. Grandparents get away with acting like grandchildren.

I don’t think the Proverb writer necessarily had those things in mind. I expect he was looking at it from the standpoint of legacy and continuation of a family line. Women without children, especially sons, were in a pitiful way in the Old Testament. Children and grandchildren not only continued the cycle of life, but they became the means of taking care of grandparents. We’ve moved away from that in this country. The government, private savings are the means of taking care of grandparents today. Many do not feel the tug of responsibility toward their family as in early days. That’s sad. There was a true circle in Bible times. Parents raised children who later took care of the aging parents. Some do not have that relationship with their grandparents. Others are not in the position to do anything.

The Amish communities continue this heritage. When a son gets married, instead of getting his own place, they add on to the house. In time, the grandparents move to a smaller room in the house and their grown child and his wife take over their room. As the grandchildren get married, more additions to the house. One big happy family taking care of each other.

Grandparents connect us to our family heritage. That’s important. Grandparents are living witnesses to life’s trials and endurance. They have gone through those long dark valleys and have come out on the other side. Their words are worth listening to.

Recently, I had breakfast with a couple of older preachers. They were both past 80 and still preaching. The names they talked about were heroes to me. They talked about preaching long ago. We laughed and laughed. They then turned the conversation to some concerns that are taking place now. I listened. I learned. What a rich and rewarding hour that was. I left feeling like I had been in the presence of spiritual giants. Their love for the Lord and His way was obvious. They refused to be sour grumps. They weren’t hopelessly stuck in the past. Their thoughts were fresh and vivid. Retiring was not in their vocabulary. They talked of plans and goals. More articles. More travels. More preaching. More teaching.

You don’t have to be a preacher to have that kind of spirit. Grandparents, your crown is not what you have done, nor your past. It is your grandchildren. Your spirit can motivate them and help them connect with the Lord. Wear your crown proudly and use it wisely. Many young people today want nothing to do with old things and old ways, including Biblical things. They need to learn. They need to know. They need to see that grandparents were once 16 years old. Grandparents struggled with money, politics, jobs, weather, and raising a family. They fought temptation, just like the rest of us do. They worshipped and worshipped the Lord. They have left footprints in the sand of time for the rest of us to follow.

I don’t have any grandparents around anymore. I’m a granddad myself now. I’d love to sit down with my grandparents and ask them some questions about church life many years ago. I’d love to know if they heard certain preachers and what they thought about them. I missed those conversations. Maybe you haven’t. Maybe an afternoon lunch and visit with your grandparents would be just the thing that your heart needs. It would do you good and they’d love to see you. Grandparents are like that.

Crowns…victory crowns…crowns of honor…crowns of dignity. Grandchildren and old men…what a connection. What a pair! What a blessing from our Lord.

Roger