{"id":510,"date":"2011-07-14T12:03:37","date_gmt":"2011-07-14T16:03:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/?p=510"},"modified":"2011-07-14T22:35:24","modified_gmt":"2011-07-15T02:35:24","slug":"he-never-looked-back","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/?p=510","title":{"rendered":"He Never Looked Back"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>He never looked back. \u00a0He hugged his mother and me, told us he loved us, and walked from the car into sacrificial service without so much as a hesitation. \u00a0I, on the other hand stood gazing after him, wishing that someone would spring from behind a bush and announce, \u201cYou\u2019re on TV\u2019s Bloopers and Practical Jokes!\u201d \u00a0No such luck. \u00a0That little boy who bounced through childhood like Tigger is now a hulking young man with a cocky, powerful stride, yet still possessed of a tender, compassionate heart. \u00a0In nine weeks the Army would leave its imprint on him.<\/p>\n

Just six months later, my wife and I endured the same scene again. \u00a0Like some recurring nightmare we watched the broad back and powerful shoulders of my eldest son walk down the same path. \u00a0Their destinations would be different; Iraq and Afghanistan. \u00a0Their experiences; as far apart as the headwaters of the Tigris and Arghandab Rivers, yet each marched forward without so much as a glance to the rear.<\/p>\n

I know that I am not the first dad to endure this life changing event. \u00a0I walked down this well worn path with my friend Russ not long ago. \u00a0His son, at the time, was counting down the final days of an enlistment in the U.S. Marine Corps. \u00a0I knelt in prayer with him as Rusty left for Iraq. I rejoiced with him when Rusty came home safe and sound. \u00a0He assured me that he would in turn, walk that path with me.<\/p>\n

The imprint on His son would be lasting. \u00a0Thirty years of woodworking would certainly leave a carpenter\u2019s hands calloused and scarred. \u00a0Yet his touch was tender enough to comfort even the smallest child. \u00a0That young carpenter, whose birth caused angels to sing, now knelt in acute agony. \u00a0In that prayer of complete surrender, he made certain of the Father\u2019s will. \u00a0He strode from the garden through the narrow corridors of a torturous night, arriving at Calvary bruised, bloody, and condemned. \u00a0He was scarred one last time; for me.<\/p>\n

Oh what private pain must have pierced the Father\u2019s heart as the hour of separation loomed near! \u00a0What indescribable anguish must have gripped Him who judges sin, upon seeing His son become the subject of judgment! \u00a0In that moment of selfless sacrifice, God’s own son embraced the cross. \u00a0He cried out at the stab of alienation from His Father. \u00a0He became my Savior. \u00a0From the manger in Bethlehem to the place of the skull, not once did he ever hesitate; he never looked back.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

He never looked back. \u00a0He hugged his mother and me, told us he loved us, and walked from the car into sacrificial service without so much as a hesitation. \u00a0I, on the other hand stood gazing after him, wishing that someone would spring from behind a bush and announce, \u201cYou\u2019re on TV\u2019s Bloopers and Practical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":529,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17,34],"class_list":["post-510","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-perspectives","tag-devotional","tag-sons","entry"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/100_0935-640x390.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=510"}],"version-history":[{"count":19,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":550,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/510\/revisions\/550"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/529"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=510"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=510"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mastonjackson.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=510"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}