For Generations to Come

You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.

Joel 1:3

I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.

3 John 1:4

The older I get, the more I reminisce about the things I learned and held on to from my childhood. I am reminded of the things that my parents and grandparents tried to instill in me. They shared with me the things that their parents and grandparents instilled in them. My grandmother made sure that I knew the Lord’s prayer by heart. Scriptures that you memorize as a young child stay with you for a lifetime. 

Children are like sponges. They hear and absorb everything. Actions and attitudes can be learned from others at a very young age. Depending on what is being shared, it can be good or bad.

This brings up a question: what are we, in this generation, passing on to our children and the next generation? If we don’t press in on their hearts the things of Jesus, the world will share their knowledge, and for the most part, it isn’t of the Lord.

I have a 4-year-old granddaughter named Shepherd. I also have a grandson on the way. His name is Bennett. I want them to know that their grandmother loves Jesus more than anything else. 

My granddaughter loves the song Gratitude by Brandon Lake. We were singing it one night and she stopped me and asked, “What does it mean to throw up your hands?”

I was able to explain what it meant. Throwing up our hands up in praise to the One that gives us life, to the One that takes us to heaven. Total abandoned, surrendered worship. 

Six months later we were at a gathering and her father (my son) was playing that song on his guitar. We all began to sing. I saw Shepherd lean over to a teenager sitting by her, and she asked her if she knew what “throw up your hands” meant. She proceeded to tell her what we had talked about in the car. She was listening!

As the scriptures say above, may it be our greatest joy to pass on the goodness of God to the ones that are growing up behind us. Let’s teach them how to walk in the truth! These are the good things that will last them and us a lifetime. It’s Eternal!