6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” John 14:6 (NKJV)
By Bro. John L. Cash
When I was a little kid, children still walked places as a form of transportation. My goodness, the world was so different then. Our parents had us walking all over town by the time we were in elementary school. I never minded the walking. But when I was very small, I was sometimes afraid. I was afraid I would get lost and never be able to find my way home.
One time (back in the day) I was walking somewhere with my older sister, Cathie. I told her that when I was walking by myself I was sometimes scared that I would get lost and never be able get home again. She said, “John, you never have to be afraid of getting lost in Stuttgart. Our house is a block and a half from the water tower. You can see the water tower all over town, so if you ever get lost, just walk toward the water tower. If you can make it to the water tower, you can get home from there.”
After that, I was never afraid of getting lost. No matter where I found myself, I could always see the water tower. And if I made it to the water tower, I could get home from there.
For over 30 years now, I’ve been preaching and teaching the Word of God. Some of the most important work I have done has been teaching small children. When I look at the outside world and the wicked age in which we live, it makes me feel kind of queasy when I think of sending little children out into that mess. I wish I could just let them live in their Sunday school classrooms, safe forever.
But since it’s impossible to keep them cloistered and sheltered, I try to teach them how they should live when they have to venture out into this evil age. And this is what I always tell them:
“Children, it’s very likely in this life that you’re going to sometimes feel lost and afraid. Things are going to happen, and you’re not going to know which way to turn. When that happens, remember my story about the water tower. Only instead of looking for a water tower, always look for the Cross. It doesn’t matter where you are—from anywhere in life, you can always see the Cross if you’ll look for it. And whenever you are looking for the Cross and walking toward the Cross, well, you are never lost. Because if you can make it to Jesus, you can always get Home from there.”
Take time to teach the children. This is the Gospel. Thanks be to God.
Dr. John L. Cash is the “Country Preacher Dad.” He was raised in Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has spent the last 28 years being a country preacher in the piney woods five miles south of the little town of Hickory, Mississippi. (On week days has a desk-job at a public school, and until recently taught Latin on closed-circuit-television.) He and his lovely wife, Susan, live in the parsonage next door to the Antioch Christian Church (where Jesus is real, and you are welcome.) Their kids include Spencer (age 22), his wife Madeline (age 22), and Seth (age 19).
