Dad didn’t dare let his son see his true feelings.  He saw him to the bus. He shook his hand. He clapped his shoulder. He nodded. As William stepped away. Dad called after him. 

“Son.” 

William turned around. “Dad.”

Dad looked down, kicked at the gravel beneath his feet, and said. “Write, will you? Make an old man happy.”

“Sure, Dad. I’ll write every day.”

Dad turned around, blew his nose, and walked home. There was so much more that he should have said. 

William wrote occasionally. The food is good. The sergeants are tough but fair. He’s made some friends. He’s shipping out to the South Pacific somewhere. At last, Dad could take it no more. 

He had so much more to tell the boy, so much more to teach him. He had to talk to him. After all, the boy was no longer a boy. He was on his own, making his own way in the world. So naive. So young. So unprepared. 

He wrote a dozen letters, each of which landed in the waste basket. He tried to tell him how to treat a lady. He tried to tell him how to handle his money. He tried to tell him about doing a good job. About loyalty to his company. About patriotism. About honor. About discipline. It all came out wrong. It made no sense to tell him things that he should have shown him for seventeen years. 

Finally, he wrote, 

Son,

It’s particularly hard to see you go off to war, but I’m sure it would be no easier if you were just going off to college or taking a job in another town. In my mind, you are still ten years old and learning to ride a bike.

There are a thousand things I should have taught you, and I feel like have not adequately prepared you for the rigors of life. In this life you will face unfathomable things. I cannot be by your side to help you though them, though I am in your heart. I hope you do recall all that I have tried to teach you. I hope you know I love you, and that I am proud of you. 

I am sending you a new Bible. Please know this. Everything I ever needed to know to be a good man, I learned in the Bible. I expect you will, too. It is the perfect letter from a Father to His children as they venture out on their own. 

Love,

Dad

Few of us can say that we have endured suffering, not compared to Joseph. You know the story, as a boy his father favored him and gave him a coat of many colors. His jealous brothers threw him in a pit and sold him into slavery. Later, he was unjustly thrown into prison. 

His life is an intriguing read. At every turn, he faced defeat. Most would have given up on life. Yet, Joseph, dedicated to God, determined to be faithful to Him. He never complained, never doubted, and never gave up. In the end, Joseph was elevated to the second most powerful political office in Egypt. He prospered. 

If you read the story of his life, you will likely notice a phrase that is repeated: “the Lord was with Joseph.” Because Joseph remained faithful to God, God helped him to prosper. In the end, Joseph states that what man meant for evil, God worked for good. 

We serve the same God that Joseph served. God will work in our lives if we remain faithful, just like he did in the life of Joseph. The Lord is with us, just as the Lord was with him. 

In the end, when we see God face-to-face, what will you tell Him?

That in church you have a regular place, what will you tell Him?

In the end, will you fall onto your knees, mercy Will you plea?

In the end, will you cross over the seas, your pain will you leave?

What will you tell Him?

The only word that in the end will count is the word “Father.”

The relationship is what it’s about. There is no other. 

In the end, it matters not who you are, rather Whose you are. 

What will you tell Him?