When Larry Crabbe, Christian psychologist and author, became a father, he decided he was going to do parenting right! So Larry made sure he hugged his sons and told them he loved them. He had father-son talks, dinners and camping trips. He personally saw to it that his sons had a thorough understanding of the Bible. And he went to their sports and other important events. And he made sure to give them firm but fair discipline. Whatever he knew was good parenting, Larry did.
But one day, when he was interstate at a conference and about to speak, Larry got a message from his wife asking him to ring home as soon as possible because his eldest son had been expelled from college. And in the time he spent leaving the conference and going home Larry realized two things: despite all he had done he had never seemed to get close to this son and he had run out of ideas for what to do. So as he drove to pick up his eldest son from the college, Larry prayed, simply asking God to help him do what was right for his son because he no longer knew what to do. When he got to his sons apartment, his first words to his son were, “What can we do to help?” And that said Larry was the turning point that his relationship with his son needed. And I can imagine that for Larry’s son, in trouble, in having his father simply come along side him and say, “What can I do to help?”, he saw a living picture of the saving grace of God in action. An action that was worthy of Jesus Christ.