Originally published in the June 19, 2008 issue of The Evangel.
by by Patrick Watts, FBC member and new father
In the movie E.T.: the Extraterrestrial, a space alien lands on earth and befriends a ten year-old boy. Since Elliott, the boy, has never encountered an alien, and the alien has never encountered a human, a good portion of the movie is devoted to Elliott teaching E.T. words, everyday objects, humor, suitable social interaction, and relationships. It took a lot of communication for E.T. to understand this new human world in which he found himself. In the end, the simple relationship they shared grew to be a tight bond.
Recently, I picked up my three-and-a-half- month-old son and said, "Adam, we're going to go outside now." He didn't know what "outside" was, let alone "now," or the social concept of "we," the implications of the future tense/infinitive verb combination, and only in the vaguest sense the concept of "Adam." My little alien came into this world not knowing a word or a thing, and only the prayerful commitment that Lydia and I share will help him become wise, strong and pure. Our parental love is magnified with each coo, kick and smile, and ultimately the joy in watching Adam discover God's will for his life.
All of us are like E.T. and Adam. We all start our relationship with Our Father unable to understand, but through the sacrificial grace of His Son Jesus Christ, we are taught how to be born into His Kingdom. He seeks a growing relationship with us. We choose to delay our development if we limit that relationship to just a few minutes a day or a few Sundays a month. God's desire is to have an ongoing love relationship that reveals to us His perfect plan for our lives.
