As A Son

By Pastor Brad Heintz

n Mother’s Day, my wife shared her life+change story from the perspective of becoming and being a mom. She shared that her first text message she received on Mother’s Day was from a friend of our daughters who thanked her for being such a great “Bonus Mom” in her life. Sometimes we overlook the opportunity and challenge of being blessed to intentionally mentor girls and boys, men and women, in our lives as if they are our own sons and daughters.

In my wife’s story, she shared how we have been blessed over the last 30 years to mentor a relative … as a bonus son. We weren’t his biological mom and dad but we were welcomed in as a bonus parents and now we get to be bonus grandparents to his son.

In an article by Morelands College, mentoring is defined as, “A dynamic, intentional. relationship of trust, in which one person. (the mentor) enables another (the mentee) by sharing their God-given experience and resources, to maximize the grace of God in that relationship.”

Who in your life has intentional developed trust and enabled you by sharing their God-given experiences and wisdom? Does someone come to mind? Thank them today! Does no one comes to mind? The

Oask, “Where do I find grace in my relationships? Where do you see unmerited favor? When did you get something that you didn’t earn or maybe didn’t deserve to received?” Your answers to these questions is grace and there is usually an intentional relationship attached to it. For example: When you think of God, you think of John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his only son” – intentional relationships –“so that whoever believes in him” – intentional relationship response –“will not perish but receive eternal life.”– grace.

A few years ago, I was missing the father-son relationship. I prayed about it and asked God to bring me another bonus dad. One day an older friend called and said he was newly retired and looking for something to do. We had the first breakfast of many together as I saw him as an intentional answer to prayer and he saw a new opportunity to be a mentor in retirement.

John 1:12-13 says, “Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.”

How about you? Do you need a bonus parent. You are never too old and it is never too late. Does someone in your life need you to be that intentional, trusted person that shows God’s grace? To whom can you be a bonus mom or bonus dad?

Pastor Brad Heintz is the founding pastor of Living Word Church in Taylor Lake Village, Texas, a vibrant family-style, non-denominational gathering of believers who take a pure, simple and real approach to faith and life. www.LWCBA.org