We will not
conceal them from their children, but tell to the generation to come the
praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wondrous works that He has
done. Psalm 78:4
Two thousand years ago by
one righteous act, Jesus set something in motion that continues to multiply
today. It is multiplied through the millions of believers who respond to his
love toward them by investing kindness into other people’s lives.
Have you ever seen one of
these domino effect contests where they set up thousands of dominos spaced just
right so that when one falls it starts a chain reaction that goes from domino
to domino? That is a good visual depiction of the impact of our choices.
Why does God wait until the end of the age before the
Judgment Seat of Christ? We really don’t
have a biblical answer to that question, but logically the full effect of your
life will go on for generation after generation. And the total effect has certainly not yet
happened the day you die. I am convinced
that when we get to heaven we are going to be amazed at the impact our lives
had. All we see is the immediate impact.
We just see a few dominos out. But in reality everything you do is to some
degree affecting other people. That is
both good news and bad news.
It is vital to teach spiritual truths to our children while they are
young.
One of our core values as a church is that the church is
for children. We believe that children
can become believers, grow spiritually and serve the church body, and
therefore, we will have ministries designed to equip and facilitate this
process. Children are important to us as
a church, because children are important to God. The verse
today is from Psalm 78 and stresses the importance of passing our faith on to
our kids; of telling the next generation about the Lord.
The formative years of a child’s life are critically
important for their spiritual development. And that spiritual development takes place
largely in the family and in the church.
Trying to save money there have been times when I used a
piece of wood that had been molded for one purpose and then tried to use it for
another. I have learned why contractors
throw perfectly good material away. It
is much easier to build something from scratch than try to take something
already firmly shaped and make it into something else. It takes too much time to reshape things and
try to make them work after the fact.
It’s a lot easier to shape a child than to reshape an adult
God doesn’t constantly reveal Himself and His Word to each
new generation. That’s not how He works.
Faith is not about our discovering new truths every day. God has spoken.
The next generation learns from the
previous. That’s God’s plan. Of course,
a child must decide for himself. But it
is the previous generation that must to teach and guide. Our kids need it. Grandparents – you can have a role in this
too. Pass on your faith and beliefs to
your grandchildren. Sometimes kids put
more stock into what their grandparents say.
Faith is not just about us. It is
about keeping the torch lit and
passing it on to the next generation.
passing it on to the next generation.
Do not let the major part of the theological instruction
of our children be the responsibility of others. The passing on of the
responsibility for the theological instruction of our children to organized
religion and other vocational ministry has taken the work but not the
responsibility from the parent. The
church works WITH, not apart from
the parent in developing the next generation's concept of God and His love and
grace.
Scripture to Claim:
Blessed
are those who have learned to acclaim you, who walk in the light of your
presence, O LORD. Psalm 89:15
