Generational Faith

 August 20, 2023

“So the people served the Lord all the days of Joshua, and all the days of the elders who outlived Joshua, who had seen all the great works of the Lord which He had done for Israel. Now Joshua the son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died when he was one hundred and ten years old. When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel.” —Judges 2:7-8, 10 

When I was actively serving as pastor, people occasionally would ask Linda and me to teach a class on raising kids, specifically, raising teenagers. We always declined, with the rationale that we weren’t out of the woods yet. Even as they grew up, married, and had kids of their own, we were somewhat reluctant; in my mind, the real proof isn’t in how your children, but how your grandchildren turn out. Now that we’ve pretty well passed that milestone, people don’t ask anymore. I guess we’re too old and fuddy-duddyish to do the job today, but I’m going to take an initial stab at the subject anyway.

This text from the book of Judges has always intrigued me. I think it holds a key to raising children who follow the Lord. This morning’s sermon was based on Deuteronomy 6:5-9–

“You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”

These words give a good foundation for raising godly children, starting with the parents’ own commitment to, and love for, God. Building on that love is the command to let God’s Word dig deep into our hearts. For too many Christians, their faith is a shallow, strictly emotional engagement that cannot withstand the very real storms of life. They worship sporadically, rarely read the Bible themselves, living a generally good, but not Christ-centered life.

The command continues: “Teach God’s Word diligently to your children.” Instruction in the faith is not to be left in the hands of the professionals—pastors, priests, or rabbis. It is the job of the parents to teach their children what it means to trust in Christ and follow him. And this instruction has both formal and informal components, using every opportunity as a teaching moment. It must be lived out in clear and open ways, by what our hands find to do, how we guard our eyes, and how life in the home is structured according to the Scriptures.

The above opening words from Judges reveal the consequences of our failure to heed Deuteronomy. A generation arose who hadn’t personally experienced the miracles of the Exodus and therefore, didn’t know the Lord. Why hadn’t this younger generation experienced the power of God that had delivered their parents from Egypt? I think it was because their parents settled down to a watered-down husk of religion. 

It is our job as parents to provide the means for our children to see God at work, but we get so comfortable in our redeemed lives that we cease taking risks for Jesus. If our children don’t see us willing to take on challenges that can only succeed if God is in it, how are they to know that God actually delivers? If my faith isn’t challenged, isn’t stretched, theirs cannot develop. Too often, we play it safe, venturing only as far as we deem possible, thus ensuring that our kids never see God do the impossible. 

The world in which I grew up was generally supportive of Christianity. The world of my children was generally tolerant of it. The world of my grandchildren is generally antagonistic to it. If all they see is a flaccid faith that can only survive in a supportive culture, my grandchildren will rightfully reject that faith. It is up to me to teach and demonstrate the power of Christ to come through when my back is to the wall, when apart from God’s intervention, all will be lost. This will mean at the least, that I refuse to be lazy, to rest on whatever my accomplishments may be, and like Peter, boldly step out of the boat to walk on a raging sea. By God’s grace, I will do so until the day I die.