Today we read a stark reminder of how important it is to pass on our faith from one generation to the next. In Judges 2, verse 10 we read that “…there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
Think of it. When the generation that had miraculously been brought into the Promised Land died off, the generation that followed them didn’t know the Lord or the way in which He had blessed and delivered them.
How could that be? So many things had been put into place as reminders, and the people had been instructed to teach their children God’s law and how He had been with Israel. Why did the following generation not know?
Perhaps is was because the generation who had seen first hand had become jaded by the presence of God. Maybe they got so busy in their pursuit of the Promised Land and the subsequent settling in there that they had no time for God and the passing on of the remembrances of His working in their behalf. Or maybe, since they had not completely ejected the Canaanites and the other original inhabitants, they were reticent to “offend” these people by teaching these important, life-giving lessons.
Wait a minute. This almost sounds like what’s going on today, doesn’t it?
Friends, we are living in perilous times. We’re living in a culture that is bent on cowing us into silence. The name of Jesus is offensive to the ears of those who do not know him. We hear of Christians being beheaded because of their faith. The litany of the censorship of Christian beliefs and expressions of faith is long. We must not be intimidated into silence, because it is up to us to pass our faith on to our children, the next generation. The church is always just one generation away from extinction, and how sad it would be to be the one who drops the baton.
Speak up. Teach your children. Tell them how God has changed your life. Be specific. Recollect when He miraculously stepped into a life situation and made a difference. If you can’t remember a time, then begin now to keep a written record so that, going forward, those times are not forgotten. God is intimately involved in each of our lives, of we are His. It’s what He does! Don’t allow His involvement in your life to be forgotten, and don’t be like this generation of Israelites and become jaded to His loving presence in your life. Your descendants’ spiritual survival may depend on it.