By Dr. DAN ERICKSON
For the past few months, I have had the privilege of speaking around the country on “An Unstoppable Force – A Christian Manifesto.” The reception has been remarkable. Most professing Christians have no idea what the absolute truths of the Christian faith are because they are not being taught them in our churches and homes. As I speak into this vacuum, the message is like a refreshing blast of cold water.
If you do not know what you stand for, you will fall for anything.
After a recent speaking event, an older gentleman came up to our resource table. He came to purchase a parchment of the “Declarations of the Christian Faith”, which outline 12 absolute truths. He told me that he had been part of a church for more than 20 years and not once had he been taught about these absolute truths.
He said, “I was always confused about what I stood for, so I just said nothing. I didn’t want to come across like some know-it-all or just stupid. I was afraid someone might ask me a bunch of questions that I could not answer, which would make me look foolish. So I just said nothing!”
He committed to me that he would follow the instruction of Deuteronomy 6:6-9, “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as a frontlet between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
This gentleman shared with me that his only regret was that he did not know these truths sooner. He could not teach his family what he did not know or lead them where he had not gone. He could not give them what he did not possess.
With sadness, he shared that none of his three children were walking with God. If he had known how to communicate the convictions of his faith, things might have turned out differently. I encouraged him that grandchildren are a grandfather’s do-over. I challenged him to begin to teach these truths to his grandchildren and to believe that someday his children would come around.
He walked away with a spark and a new commitment for a fresh start. He now has something both to stand and hope for. With him, I encourage you to imagine the possibilities!
