"William Franklin, Your Father Loves You"
On May 16, 2008, Steven Curtis Chapman's 5 year old adopted daughter was killed when his 17 year old son accidentally ran over her in their driveway with the family's SUV.
I recall a conversation that my 16 year old son and I had the day after this happened. He asked, "Dad, what do you say to someone when they do something like that." I remember responding that I did not know, but I was confident that the first words out of Steven Curtis Chapman's mouth to his son were critical. A father's words are powerful for the positive or for the negative, especially in a tragedy such as this.
A few weeks ago, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were on Larry King Live. They described the events of that day. I won't go into all of the details, but I did find out what Steven's first words were to his devastated son. After hitting his sister Maria, Will sprinted down the driveway trying to get away from the accident scene. He was tackled by his 18 year old brother half way down the long driveway where they both collapsed sobbing. They stayed there until after the ambulance left.
As Steven jumped in a car to follow the ambulance to the hospital, he instructed his driver to stop near Will and his brother. Not wanting to delay in getting to the hospital, he rolled down the window and shouted, "William Franklin, your father loves you!"
At this point, Steven had no idea how this had happened. He did not know whether or not his son had been careless or negligent. Yet, his first words to his son revealed his heart. No matter what had happened, he wanted Will to know that he loved him.
I would like to believe that my reaction would have been similar. But, experience tells me that it would not. However, I am convinced that this is God's attitude toward us when we fail or make some critical mistake.
Men of Jesus the Messiah Church, your Father loves you!
I recall a conversation that my 16 year old son and I had the day after this happened. He asked, "Dad, what do you say to someone when they do something like that." I remember responding that I did not know, but I was confident that the first words out of Steven Curtis Chapman's mouth to his son were critical. A father's words are powerful for the positive or for the negative, especially in a tragedy such as this.
A few weeks ago, Steven Curtis Chapman and his family were on Larry King Live. They described the events of that day. I won't go into all of the details, but I did find out what Steven's first words were to his devastated son. After hitting his sister Maria, Will sprinted down the driveway trying to get away from the accident scene. He was tackled by his 18 year old brother half way down the long driveway where they both collapsed sobbing. They stayed there until after the ambulance left.
As Steven jumped in a car to follow the ambulance to the hospital, he instructed his driver to stop near Will and his brother. Not wanting to delay in getting to the hospital, he rolled down the window and shouted, "William Franklin, your father loves you!"
At this point, Steven had no idea how this had happened. He did not know whether or not his son had been careless or negligent. Yet, his first words to his son revealed his heart. No matter what had happened, he wanted Will to know that he loved him.
I would like to believe that my reaction would have been similar. But, experience tells me that it would not. However, I am convinced that this is God's attitude toward us when we fail or make some critical mistake.
Men of Jesus the Messiah Church, your Father loves you!
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