It was a day that began like any other day until I heard my mom crying in the kitchen. She had accidentally burned the meat she was preparing for our dinner. She was able to salvage some, but not nearly enough to feed all of us.

That’s when it happened. It was a defining moment in my life. My dad called me into his bedroom, shut the door, and said, “Steve, I’d like to have a man-to-man talk with you. “A man-to-man talk,” I thought? Wow! I was all ears. My dad said, “Part of being a man is making sacrifices for your family. As you know, your mom burned the meat and there isn’t enough for all of us. So when the meat is passed to you, pass it on and we’ll let your mom and sister have the meat.”

I could hardly wait for dinner, and for my rite of passage into “Manhood.” You see, although I was just a young boy, I wasn’t about to let this invitation to “Manhood” pass me by. And I’ll have to tell you, I don’t believe I have ever felt more like a man than that day, many years ago, when I passed that plate of meat on to my mom and sister without taking any for myself.

As Christians, maybe we could take a lesson from this personal anecdote. Maybe we would be more successful in reaching the lost if we would make the relationship into which we were inviting them much clearer — Sonship. Brotherhood. Family. Sainthood. Priests. These and more are what we become when we become a Christian.

Friends, becoming a Christian is an invitation from God into a relationship that you won’t want to turn down. If you haven’t accepted his invitation, do so! You’ll never regret it.

by Steve Higginbotham