Leaving Dad In the Boat...

What are some of the things -- heirlooms, habits, passions, skills, even your name -- that you received from your parents? And likewise, what are you passing on to your kids? One classic example is the family business, something taken with the utmost seriousness in the ancient world. That James and John, on hearing Jesus' call, leave their father Zebedee in the fishing boat is no small detail. Placing the Gospel of Jesus Christ at the center of our lives, allowing the living God to order our lives properly, in fact allows our family life, our work life, our passions, hobbies, avocations to find their divinely-ordained place for flourishing.  The all-too common alternative is to huddle away on Sunday morning for "God time" and let these other things grow into idols (including our families).  It is only the stamp of baptism -- being marked and sealed as Christ's own forever -- that ultimately defines us, not these other things, no matter how seemingly precious and identity-shaping.