Letters    

TO A SON ON HIS GRADUATION FROM HIGH SCHOOL

Dear T. D. F.                                                                                                        June 1, 1989

     Beginning at the time that we knew of your conception, your father and mother prayed that God would by His grace call you to preach the Gospel of His Son. However, you must not enter upon the Christian ministry because it is the will of your parents: the ministry is not a profession, or a career, but is a calling.

    While your mother was carrying you in her womb, we would sing hymns, and read God's Word to you. We taught you to read using the McGuffey Readers, and throughout the years, we have labored that you might have a knowledge of God.

     We settled upon your name within hours of your birth. We chose to name you after the same Godly minister that I was named after, and whose first name was a Bible name. Timothy Dwight was President of Yale College from 1795 until his death in January 1817. He was used of God to bring revival to that great institution during the Second Great Awakening in this country. The name "Timothy" is from the Greek, and means "honoring God."

     Now that you are graduating from high school, it is time for you to remember certain things. First, remember the words of William Penn who said, "Right is right, if everyone is against it; and wrong is wrong, if everyone is for it."

    Second, remember the advice of Richard Edgeworth to his daughter. "Maria," he said, "a man cannot be good for anything who is very popular." Third, remember that you are not to strive to be great, but are to strive to be good.

    Fourth, remember how Cotton Mather urged his daughter to godly behavior, and stated that he had written a book about ungodly children in the conclusion of which he said that his book would be a terrible witness against his own children, if any of them should be ungodly. As the Scriptures say, "Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required" (Luke 12:48). It is also a great truism that a man is known by his children.

      And fifth, remember that as a Christian, you are a stranger and a pilgrim on this earth. This world is not your home: your citizenship is in heaven. Be honorable and honest, even as a child of God.

     It will only be natural that in the next few years, you will seek a wife. Pray now for her that God in His mercy would give you a proper mother for your children.

     "Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom" (Colossians 3:16). "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ...(and) thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:37,39).

     In the words of Johann Sebastian Bach, "May God Smile On You."

Dear J. W. F.                                                                                                      June 1, 1991

     We rejoiced when we knew you had been conceived, and we began to pray earnestly that God would call you to preach the Gospel. The Christian ministry, however, is not a profession, but a calling that God must give.

     While you were yet in your mother's womb, we introduced you to the Word of God, and to the songs of Zion. We named you "John Wesley" because, although he was theologically an Arminian, he was a true Christian. The name "John" means "God is gracious", and we believe God has been gracious to us in giving you to us.

     We have taught you the everlasting truths of God. Now, you will have to decide what kind of man you will be; and to what degree you will be a good man. God does not call us to be great, but to be good.

     Remember first, that although you have 10,000 instructors, yet, you do not have many fathers. Therefore, I urge you to follow me (I Corinthians 2:15,16).

     Second, if you follow Christ with all your heart, you, too, will be a pilgrim and a stranger in the earth. Although in a crowd, you will be alone. Third, remember that neither "tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, nor sword" shall separate you from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus the Lord (Romans 8:35). And, remember that it is better that you suffer for well-doing than for evil-doing (I Peter 3:17). "If any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed" (4:16).

     Fourth, remember the limited value of "money" and that "a good name is rather to be chosen than great riches" (Proverbs 22:1); and "better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a stalled ox and hatred therewith" (15:17). The Word of God is more to be desired than much fine gold. "Honor the Lord with thy substance" (3:9), and be liberal with what you have, for most people never learn "it is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35).

     In the next few years, you will seek a wife. Pray now that God would give you a proper mother for your children. Be wise, and not a fool. In the meantime, "Flee also youthful lusts" (II Timothy 2:22). "Every sin that a man doeth is without the body, but he that commits fornication sins against his own body" (I Corinthians 6:18). And, remember the old epitaph of the Scottish soldier—

The toughest battle that ever I was in,                                            Was the battle o'er self, and the conquest of sin.

      Last, be honest, even as a child of God. "Love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ...(and) thy neighbor as thyself" (Matthew 22:37, 39). "May God Smile On You" —Bach.

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