A Conversation about Grandchildren
So here’s a fiction exchange, that has happened, in one way or another, lots of times to me over the years.
Mr A: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations!
Now, if I had only left it at that. But, not, I had to go all Biblical on them…
Mr A: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Awkward!
Mr A: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Mr A: Well, they have decided to put off having children for a while.
Me: Well, my prayer for them would be that they would have many children, and soon.
Why do I do this? Poor guy.
Mr A: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Mr A: Well, they have decided to put off having children for a while.
Me: Well, my prayer for them would be that they would have many children, and soon.
Mr A: Well, it is their decision.
Me: It is. I hope and pray that they will decide to have many children, starting soon.
I can be so obnoxious.
Mr A: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Mr A: Well, they have decided to put off having children for a while.
Me: Well, my prayer for them would be that they would have many children, and soon.
Mr A: Well, it is their decision.
Me: It is. I hope and pray that they will decide to have many children, starting soon.
Mr A: Well, we respect their decision.
Me: I pray that God will bring them conviction for that sin
Mr A: If it is their decision, how can it be sin?
Me: We can make sinful decisions.
Mr A: But this isn’t a sinful decision!
Me: Let’s look at the Scriptures and see.
Mr A: The Scriptures don’t have anything to say about this.
Me: Let’s look.
Mr A: It’s their decision, and I’m going to respect it.
Mr B: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Mr B: Well, they have decided to only have two children.
Me: Well, my prayer for them would be that they would have many children, and soon.
Mr B: Well, it is their decision.
Me: It is. I hope and pray that they will decide to have many children, starting soon.
Mr B: Well, we respect their decision.
Me: I pray that God will bring them conviction for that sin
Mr B: If it is their decision, how can it be sin?
Me: We can make sinful decisions.
Mr B: But this isn’t a sinful decision!
Me: Let’s look at the Scriptures and see.
Mr B: The Scriptures don’t have anything to say about this.
Me: Let’s look.
Mr B: It’s their decision, and I’m going to respect it.
Mr C: My son just got married the other day!
Me: Congratulations! May they bring you many grandchildren soon.
Mr C: Oh, they’ve decided not to have children…
My goal in these little exchanges is to condemn, not Misters A, B, and C… but those who would find my reaction offensive. Misters A, B, and C are wrong, and deadly wrong. But it is those who find my reaction offensive who bear the bulk of the blame.
Like a deadly infection, the problem with sin is not just at the point of the sin, but the spread of the sin to other areas. And that spread happens when the antibodies that are supposed to stop it fail to do their job. And in the case of sin, we are supposed to be the antibodies. We are supposed to confront sin, and refuse to go along with it.
Thank you for reading Von’s Substack. I would love it if you commented! I love hearing from readers, especially critical comments. I would love to start more letter exchanges, so if there’s a subject you’re interested in, get writing and tag me!
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Von also writes as ‘Arthur Yeomans’. Under that name he writes children’s, YA, and adult fiction from a Christian perspective. His books are published by Wise Path Books and include the children’s/YA books:
The Bobtails meet the Preacher’s Kid
and
As well as GK Chesterton’s wonderful book, “What’s Wrong with the World”, for which ‘Arthur’ wrote most of the annotations.
Arthur also has a substack, and a website. On the substack you can listen to some of his published books. Free.
Thanks again, God Bless, Soli Deo gloria,
Von
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The question of Child-murder is still very much a live one… if those phrases can both exist in the same sentence. We are killing our children right and left, with surgery and pills.