DAD’S
BEST GIFT

Topics: Accepting Christ; Assurance; Child Rearing; Children; Family; Fatherhood; Heaven; Testimony

References: Deuteronomy 6:4–9; Psalm 45:16; Proverbs 1:8; 4:1; Romans 6:23

At the funeral of Ronald Reagan, his son Michael described the greatest gift a child can receive:

I was so proud … to be Ronald Reagan’s son. What a great honor. He gave me a lot of gifts as a child—a horse, a car, a lot of things. But there’s a gift he gave me that I think is wonderful for every father to give every son.…

Last Saturday, … when he closed his eyes, that’s when I realized the gift that he gave to me, the gift that he was going to be with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. He had, back in 1988 on a flight from Washington, D.C., to Point Mugu, told me about his love of God, his love of Christ as his Savior. I didn’t know then what it all meant. But I certainly, certainly know now.

I can’t think of a better gift for a father to give a son. And I hope to honor my father by giving my son, Cameron, and my daughter, Ashley, that very same gift he gave to me. I know where my father is this very moment; that he is in heaven. I can only promise my father this: “Dad, when I die, I will go to heaven, too. And you and I and my sister, Maureen, who went before us, will dance with the heavenly host of angels before the presence of God. We will do it melanoma- and Alzheimer’s-free.”

—Associated Press, “Reagan’s Children’s Eulogy Remarks,” USA Today (June 12, 2004)