"Our" Father
I am the fourth of four children and the only son. I appeared late on the scene and by the time I was a teenager my older sisters were grown and out of the house. Technically, I am not an only child, but for practical purposes I was one during my teenage years. There are some advantages of being the last child and having your parents all to yourself. When asked where to go to eat, I had the lone vote. When asked what movie we wanted to see, I held the children's majority. When I had a ballgame, there were no other sibling conflicts to work around. Life was good as I was the center of my parent's universe. Their love for me taught me a lot about God's love for his children, but on the other hand I fell victim to a somewhat egocentric and distorted view of God's love as well. I am the father of four and, although my oldest two are now out of the house, at one time I was the father of four teenagers. (There ought to be some kin...