Generations

Gavin, my grandson who is 3 years old, is growing in his awareness of God. Before we ate dinner, he prayed to thank God for our food and his family. At bedtime, he makes sure to instruct Daddy about giving thanks to Jesus for specific experiences that day. He asks probing questions about how to know Jesus, too. Such interest in the things of God does a Grandfather's heart good! He is the 5th generation in the Scott family to be trained in the evangelical Christian tradition. How I pray that the training he is receiving at this tender age will take root in his little heart and mind.

I thank God that my children saw the reality of Jesus Christ in our home and that, as they matured, they chose to respond to His love and to His will. We are all- young and old - still growing in grace! I look forward to my father, now in his 7th decade, and learn from him. My sons and daughters look forward to me as a model and, now, the next generation follows on. May the chain never be broken until the coming of the Kingdom.

The oft-quoted Proverb tells us if we "Train up a child in the way he should go, And when he is old he will not depart from it. " (Proverbs 22:6, NKJV) The Message comes a little closer to the Hebrew intention of the word, "train," saying - "Point your kids in the right direction— when they’re old they won’t be lost." (Proverbs 22:6, The Message) The word that is translated as, "train," is a word that in every other usage in the Bible is translated as "dedicate." Training implies a singular act or an event. To pass the faith along we must go far beyond just taking a child to Sunday School, or having a time - every now and then - of Bible reading at the dinner table.

If we hope that the next generation will take seriously our professed love for God, they must be able to see Him as real in our daily lives. They need to observe how our devotion shapes our attitudes in our business endeavors, our leisure time - yes, the whole of our lives. Moses reminded the people of God that true spirituality is not segregated from real life. He told them that if they wanted the next generation to know the living God they must live in a way that keeps His Presence - front and center all of the time. "Attention, Israel! God, our God! God the one and only! Love God, your God, with your whole heart: love him with all that’s in you, love him with all you’ve got! Write these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are, sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night." (Deuteronomy 6:4-8, The Message)

Talking about the Lord in our family is not a forced thing, nor does it involve 'religious' language. God's truth is the hub of the wheel of life. So, as we live, there is always reference to God's will, God's way. Much of the teaching that takes place is not formal, in the sense that we sit down with Bible and pen to 'do a lesson.' Rather, as the Scripture above references, we talk about the Lord at the table, on the deck, as we play and work.

Are you passing the faith along?
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We're pilgrims on the journey
Of the narrow road,
And those who've gone before us
Line the way.
Cheering on the faithful,
Encouraging the weary,
Their lives a stirring testament
To God's sustaining grace.

O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.

Surrounded by so great
A cloud of witnesses,
Let us run the race
Not only for the prize,
But as those who've gone before us.
Let us leave to those behind us,
The heritage of faithfulness
Passed on thru godly lives.

After all our hopes and dreams
Have come and gone,
And our children sift thru all
We've left behind,
May the clues that they discover,
And the memories they uncover,
Become the light that leads them,
To the road we each must find.

O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful,
May the fire of our devotion
Light their way.
May the footprints that we leave,
Lead them to believe,
And the lives we live
Inspire them to obey.
O may all who come behind us
Find us faithful.

© 1987 Jonathan Mark Music ARR UBP of Gaither Copyright Management / Birdwing Music (a div. of EMI Christian Music Publishing) CCLI License No. 810055