Having some time with my father recently has me with a heart of gratitude toward the Lord. I will anticipate some time this coming week to spend extended time with my father to inquire about his joy in obeying the Lord in preaching the gospel. My dad represents thousands of pastors around the world who are content with little of this world to make much of the Kingdom of God. For this heritage, I’m thankful. my joy is in the Lord, my heritage of grace is undeserved from the Almighty.
This is part of that act of grace.
Heavenly treasures are a heritage. The saints of God accept them as a heritage. This is how they can be content with little of this world. A good man, by the grace of God, brings his heart to his work, then it is done well.
I look forward to introducing you to my father in the coming weeks, but for now here is a snapshot:
The term bi-vocational may not be an exact translation of what the apostle Paul did, but it represents his method of ministry. My father, Clyde Thompson, was a hard worker willing to do all that was expected of him to preach. Sometimes it meant painting signs. This kind of sign painting is of an era gone by. It is a craft lost to the modern era of vinyl lettering. The professional sign painter owns a skill that is rarely needed today.
The professional sign painter, is his profession endangered or extinct? He must decide to adjust and embrace the technology of the day or compete with ‘letter perfect’ competition of a computer. I digress; my reflection is less about the industry and more about the lost art and discipline of a hand painted sign painter.
Today, I simply give a brief reflection on my dad and his heavenly heritage. Last week we unearthed a sign he painted to advertise his bi-vocational job “Thompson Signs”. For father’s day, we will rejoice in a common spiritual treasured heritage. (Then, Lord willing, we will gather for dinner at IHOP)
* the spelling of dad with a ‘b’ is my dyslexic way of spelling dad, (dab.)