Psa 78:5 For he established a testimony in Jacob, and appointed a law in Israel, which he commanded our fathers, that they should make them known to their children:
Psa 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
Psa 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
Psa 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
We see in this passage that it is the responsibility of one generation to pass along to the next one, so that they, in turn, might pass along to the next generation the following;
1) The Praises of the Lord, vs 4
2) How Strong the Lord is, vs 4
3) The Wonderful Works that He has Done, vs 4
4) A Testimony, vs 5
5) The Perfect Law of God, vs 5
6) That There is Hope in God, vs 7
7) That Generations to come might not forget the Works of God, vs 7
8) That Those Generations would Keep His Commandments, vs 7
Now, let's be honest, what are we really passing down to our kids?
The average Christian home teaches;
1)That a television set is the pivotal point of the home.
2)That getting ahead, or rather, just keeping afloat by whatever means necessary, is primary.
3) The principle of situational ethics can be employed when issues arise.
4) The whole ‘God thing’ is okay for normal times, but crises may call for other means to get by, i.e. lying, stealing, depending on the government, coveting, sloth, slander, etc.
5) The ‘God thing’ is basically a 1 or 2 hour a week proposition, otherwise, all bets are off.
I am reminded of the illustration of God being the spare tire for most people. When we have a flat, we pull out that donut tire from the trunk and use it just long enough to limp into the service station and get the tire fixed, then the spare gets thrown back into the trunk until the next time you have a flat. A person is just fine until trouble comes and he thinks he could use God to get over the rough spot, then, as soon as the crisis is averted, our Cosmic Genie goes back into His bottle until the next time we are in trouble.
That's precisely why we are losing the coming generation. They see God as an add-on to their parents lives, not a real deal, sure fire part of everyday life. They don't see a testimony of 24/7 dependence and relationship with the Almighty from their mom and pop, but a religion of convenience. Hollywood holds more reality to our kids than does their parent's faith.
It's time we talk the talk and walk the walk in our homes, like we do down at the church house. We can't hide the true faith from our kids, but we have to establish a testimony before them that they might know the true power of God and choose to pass the faith along to their kids.
Psa 78:6 That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born; who should arise and declare them to their children:
Psa 78:7 That they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments:
Psa 78:8 And might not be as their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation; a generation that set not their heart aright, and whose spirit was not stedfast with God.
We see in this passage that it is the responsibility of one generation to pass along to the next one, so that they, in turn, might pass along to the next generation the following;
1) The Praises of the Lord, vs 4
2) How Strong the Lord is, vs 4
3) The Wonderful Works that He has Done, vs 4
4) A Testimony, vs 5
5) The Perfect Law of God, vs 5
6) That There is Hope in God, vs 7
7) That Generations to come might not forget the Works of God, vs 7
8) That Those Generations would Keep His Commandments, vs 7
Now, let's be honest, what are we really passing down to our kids?
The average Christian home teaches;
1)That a television set is the pivotal point of the home.
2)That getting ahead, or rather, just keeping afloat by whatever means necessary, is primary.
3) The principle of situational ethics can be employed when issues arise.
4) The whole ‘God thing’ is okay for normal times, but crises may call for other means to get by, i.e. lying, stealing, depending on the government, coveting, sloth, slander, etc.
5) The ‘God thing’ is basically a 1 or 2 hour a week proposition, otherwise, all bets are off.
I am reminded of the illustration of God being the spare tire for most people. When we have a flat, we pull out that donut tire from the trunk and use it just long enough to limp into the service station and get the tire fixed, then the spare gets thrown back into the trunk until the next time you have a flat. A person is just fine until trouble comes and he thinks he could use God to get over the rough spot, then, as soon as the crisis is averted, our Cosmic Genie goes back into His bottle until the next time we are in trouble.
That's precisely why we are losing the coming generation. They see God as an add-on to their parents lives, not a real deal, sure fire part of everyday life. They don't see a testimony of 24/7 dependence and relationship with the Almighty from their mom and pop, but a religion of convenience. Hollywood holds more reality to our kids than does their parent's faith.
It's time we talk the talk and walk the walk in our homes, like we do down at the church house. We can't hide the true faith from our kids, but we have to establish a testimony before them that they might know the true power of God and choose to pass the faith along to their kids.
No comments:
Post a Comment