Put It on My Dad’s Tab
As a child, my family attended church camp at Camp Galilee in Minnesota. I made many great memories catching frogs and turtles in “Lake Galilee” (a glorified pond) and climbing the playground with friends. The Canteen was where you could go to get something to eat after church or get a drink, burger, or some candy almost any time of day. For some reason, I have several memories of going to the Canteen.
Of course, you had to pay for your food at the Canteen. But I never did. I simply walked up to the window and told them what I would like to eat. They would give me my order and tell me how much to pay. I didn’t carry any money at 8-years-old. I probably would have lost it in the pond or on the slide if I had. My really cool dad had this all figured out though. He set up a running tab at the Canteen. If any of us in the family wanted something, we could just put it on the tab.
It was fun to go buy Super Rope candy, Nerds, Twix bars, or a bag of Twizzlers and tell them “Put it on my dad’s tab.” My friends would have to dig in their pockets for wadded up dollar bills or hand over fistfuls of change to buy some grub. I didn’t. There was some sense of security there that the supply would never run out. If I didn’t get enough to eat in the dining hall or if I was really thirsty, I could go down to that aluminum window and just say, “Put it on my dad’s tab.”
Who picks up my tab now?
That childhood is long gone from me. Eventually I started adulting. My early attempts are probably as fun as it sounds. Adulting.
Somewhere in the process of making my own way, I realized dad was not around to pick up the tab anymore. I had to pay cash or go without. That is good for personal finance and life management. But it is horrible theology.
In life, real life, we need more than money because we need more than physical sustenance. More than financially drained, I have been emotionally overtaxed and spiritually bankrupt at times. No matter how far I dig in my pockets, I cannot find the finances that will fund such deficits. I cannot pick up the tab on my real needs, both internal and eternal.
Running a different kind of tab
Fortunately I found a way to get funded. I got a new Dad. I still love my dad and am thankful for his financing my early years, but even he cannot finance me in the areas of true human needs.
While Bible believers talk about being “born again,” or more correctly “born from above,” the fact we should not overlook is that we have been born into a family. The new birth makes me a child of the King. This means the King is my Dad!
Every good thing comes from my Heavenly Dad. Everything I need in life, He has provided (2 Peter 1:3). Do I think I do not have enough love to deal with someone? I put it on His tab. He will love them through me. Am I overwhelmed and discouraged? I take Him my problems and He always covers my lack. Stressed? “Hello, I would like some peace… and put that on my Dad’s tab, please.” His peace passes understanding. Fearful or disturbed thoughts? He’s has me covered with the Spirit of a sound mind.
Are you running short on what you need in life? Put it on your Dad’s tab. He’s good for it.
Want to understand more about the Kingdom? It is such a fascinating truth that Jesus preached. The Kingdom is here but too many of us do not understand what a kingdom really is. Learn how it works and how to enter the Kingdom of God. (I love the illustration about the dog.)