By Gina Caswell Kelly
There is a couple in my Sunday school class whose family I have known for many years. Actually, I have known six generations of this family! That is a sign that you have lived somewhere a really long time. I knew Mother Lela when I was a young girl – Generation 1. Then I knew Carroll and Dee for many years – Generation 2. Kermitt and Janice were actually my Sunday school teachers when I was in high school – Generation 3. Keri and Shaun – I babysat Keri when she and her sister were young – Generation 4. Kyle and Kim are now in my Sunday school class – Generation 5. They have little Knox and Kennedy – Generation 6. How amazing is that!
I saw all that to say this; what one generation does matters on down the road. As I said, Kermitt and Janice taught me in Sunday school. I remember it well. And now here I am teaching their grandchildren. The decisions we make have a direct impact on the generation that comes after us. When I knew Mother Lela when I was young, of course I had no idea that I would one day be teaching her great-great grandkids. Where I knew her from was church. Where I knew the next generation was from church. Where I knew the next generation was from church. A family dedicated to following God will pass that on to the next generation and so on and so on and so on.
We are supposed to teach each generation about the love of God. We are taught that in God’s Word. In Psalm 71:18, it says, “So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
In Joshua 4: 21-22, it says, “And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'”
But, in Judges 2:10, it states, “And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers. And there arose another generation after them who did not know the Lord or the work that he had done for Israel.”
We must be sure the next generation knows the stories of our God and His power and might. We must be sure that we are passing along the faith of our fathers and our mothers. I heard my grandmother pray. I heard my mom and dad pray. My children and my grandchildren have heard me pray. I want to leave a legacy that lasts throughout the generations for my family. I don’t want there to rise up another generation that does not know the Lord and all He has done for me! I want the stories of my God to last for generations down the road.
What are you teaching your family about the love of God? The stories of His power in your life make a difference.
