Thanks, DAD!

I am very thankful for my dad. He taught me many valuable lessons and showed me how to be a man of responsibility, high ethics, morality and grace. Dad took up for the weak, the lowly and the hurting. He loved poor people and fought for them continually. This is what led him to be a strong union man.

Dad was also a strong Christian and as a result he was a strong churchman. He and Mother cleaned the church, kept the books,etc. Mother served as a Sunday school teacher for fifty years and Dad as a Deacon in our small Baptist Church in Ina, Illinois.They were pillars.

But that is not all. They served people in need and were actively involved in community activities as Christians. Mother led the money raising drive for Cancer every year and Dad was on the City Council and served at least one term as Mayor. (The example is an unappreciative citizenry led me to fore go a political career.)

Dad greatly understood the depth of sin. Because he understood the heart's deceitfulness he also understood the absolute necessity for grace. I thought Dad was a bit wacky when he spoke up about grace and mercy. He was almost alone in promoting it in our culture. Most people were Old Testament and legalistic who thought that "An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" was a command of Jesus.

Thanks Dad. Because of you I started to apprehend and comprehend grace as well as my sin. Now that I understand my sin I am beginning to accept God's grace and mercy.