Who do you say that I am?

By Zach Cowles

My whole life, I've been a pastor's kid. Being a pastor's kid comes with a lot of perks. For instance, there was this catwalk up above the sanctuary where nobody was allowed to go. But when you're the pastor's kid, nobody is going to tell you that you can't go up there. So I got to get a view of the sanctuary that only the janitor got to see. I was living large.  

As I grew up, I went to church. A lot. I was in church every Wednesday, every Sunday, and then when we started doing the Friday night services, I was there too. I went to church a whole lot. And I learned all the rules at a young age. I learned that good christians don't drink, smoke, or have sex, so I didn't do any of that. And I thought I was a good christian. 

Now, I looked up to my dad. I still do. He's one of the greatest people I've ever met. I saw the way that he followed Jesus. I saw the way that he loved God and served the community. I saw the way that he treated my mom with such tender care and respect, and the way that he loved me and my brother, even when we were being boneheads. I saw the way that he stood up for what he believed in, but never made people feel like they were worthless if they disagreed. I saw the way that he had followed Jesus for so long, that he began to look like Jesus. I saw that my dad had forged this relationship with our creator that was unshakeable. This relationship with God had transformed my dad and his heart into a reflection of Jesus. Not a perfect reflection, mind you. But when you look at my dad, you see the heart of God. 

I based my faith on that. I based my faith on what my dad said about God. I based my faith on the encounter with Jesus that has...CLICK HERE FOR MORE!