Today was a big day in two of kids lives

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One of the things that drew Charlie and I together was how the other loved Jesus. One of my favorite things about Jesus is that he respects our freedom of choice. Humans can be well intentioned pushy, forceful people who run others over “in the name of Jesus” because we think that’s what “love” is. But it’s not. And Jesus, he won’t do that to you. 
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=1-LQ7WHHIPb8bFbP7uyI2SkWZyCc5m6Ma
This belief that Jesus isn’t pushy and gives us freedom of choice has shaped our whole lives, including the way we raise our family. So in the Christian faith it’s a big deal to be baptized. It’s not a magic pill or miracle cure, it’s simply a public way of saying, “I trust Jesus and am willing to completely change the course of my life for him.”  We’ve never pushed our boys into anything spiritual. Yes, we talk about Jesus all the time because we’re so deeply committed to him, but we believe with every fiber of our being that Jesus is the living God and he wants a PERSONAL relationship with each of us. So pushing our kids into that will only hurt everybody involved. We have always told our kids that it’s their choice to follow Him. It’s personal, just as any friendship is personal.
https://drive.google.com/uc?export=view&id=19Flp_jgyX8EVPsmpCwamVTbKnLaXZHi2
For the last year, every now and again, the kids will bring up the idea of being baptized. A couple of months ago when our pastor said that today would be the day he was planning to have baptisms we told the two boys that if they wanted to be baptized they’d have to talk with him on their own, without us. They did that and more: One boy unbeknownst to us did a word study reading all the accounts written in the Bible to make sure he understood and wanted to be baptized. The other realized that today conflicted with a week of Boy Scout camp that he had already signed up for and gave it up so he could publicly proclaim himself a Jesus follower. They both have clearly made this personal. I am proud of the men they are becoming. I am proud of they way the make decisions. I am grateful to see them choose and build into their relationship with Jesus daily.

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