You’re welcome in the cool kids club

Good morning, everyone,

Our theme for this month: “Live long, live well”

Our Bible verse for today: “God sets the lonely in families …” Psalm 68:6 (NIV)

Our thought for today: “You’re welcome in the cool kids club”

My son Rick was bipolar from an early age. In those days we didn’t know it, we only knew that he was different and that he struggled with social interaction and building relationships. That was especially true in high school. He tried to fit in. He joined the chess club and the debate team. He went to dances and football games and other special events. But he would often come home frustrated and in exasperation he would say, “Some day I’m going to figure out how to get into the cool kids club.”

He hung onto that phrase and throughout his adult life, whenever he accomplished something of significance, like graduating from college, he would jokingly say, “Well, maybe now they’ll let me into the cool kids club.”

In middle age Rick finally found the acceptance he had been searching for his whole life. He moved from Los Angeles, CA to Crossville, TN and he joined us at Oak Hill Baptist Church. There he found a church family that welcomed him and loved him. He would sometimes joke that he had finally made it into the cool kids club. I think he was right – but only in a limited way. Oak Hill Baptist is a great place filled with a lot of great people but as good as it is, it is still only a shadow of the real thing in heaven.

Sadly, Rick died at the age of only fifty-five. He had suffered from a long list of serious health problems for many years and finally one day, he had a heart attack and died suddenly. I preached his funeral and I told the story of “the cool kids club” and how it is that Rick found love and acceptance as a member of a good church family. I also told them I’m certain that in the moment Rick’s spirit left his physical body and entered heaven, Jesus was standing there with a big smile and arms opened wide, and He said, “Rick! Welcome to the cool kids club!”

Heaven is the real cool kids club. But until then, as Psalm 68:6 teaches, a good church family is the best substitute you will find here on earth. And as we learned in yesterday’s devotional, being active in a good church is a key element for living well and being happy.

I encourage you to be involved in the full life of a good church. And if you don’t have a church home, and if you are close to Cumberland County, TN, then I invite you to visit with us at Oak Hill Baptist. I promise you will be made to feel welcomed.

God bless,
Pastor Jim

(If you like what you are reading in these daily devotionals and if you would like more content from Oak Hill Baptist Church, join us on Sundays at 10:00 – in-person if you are nearby or, if you are geographically distant or if you just can’t make it, online at www.YouTube.com/@oakhillbaptistcrossville

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