Over a recent past weekend, our family traveled to Ravenna, Ohio, for my grandmother's 90th birthday party.  Grandma moved into an assisted living community this year, and so our family took over the recreation area for a few hours on Saturday afternoon.  Grandma was embarrassed at all the attention, but she was thankful fro all of the years to watch her family grow and mature.  Grandma has 4 children, 11 grandchildren and 26 great-grandchildren.  At one point Grandma looked around and said, "How'd we get so big?"

One of the many memories I have about grandma is her constant desire and leading to go to church and for Jesus.  I would spend time with her over the summers growing up, and I remember her Bible out on the front porch, singing and humming hymns around the house, and going to the church building for worship.  I really remember this portrait of Jesus waiting at someone's door hanging up on a wall.  Having a relationship with Jesus is important to my grandma, and she made it important to the rest of us as well.  She passed it on to us and it is evident in the lives of my cousins and aunts and uncles.

The Bible talks about how faith in God was or wasn't passed from generation to generation.  In the case of Judges, sadly, it wasn't: Judges 2:10 "After that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the LORD nor what he had done for Israel."  There is some powerful scripture which emphasizes the importance of one generation passing and sharing the faith to another.  Psalm 102:18 "Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the LORD."

The beginning of Psalm 78 is a strong word to pass along the faith.  Psalm 78:4-6  "We will not hide (the teachings of God) from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD, his power and the wonders he has done.  He decreed statues for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children."  You can also read Deuteronomy 6:1-9 for some more strong illustrations about sharing the faith from generation to generation.

The church is a beautiful place where generation after generation, old and new, gather to worship our great God.  But there are some precautions we must take so that we'll continue to be a church following in the lines of Psalm 78 and Deuteronomy 6.  We have to be aware of the tendency for generational pride.  We must resist the urge to think that "our" generation has it right and the others don't.  We must resist the desire to point and blame when we see something we don't like.  We must share the wisdom that God has given us in a kind and humble fashion.

Some good questions to ask ourselves: What am I learning from the generation above and below me?  What am I doing to help teach other generations about God and His wonders?  Can I teach another generation something that I don't know myself?  The church needs to have multiple active generations to thrive and live.  May you be a part of a generation that leaves a legacy of children that praise the Lord.

Learn more about St. John's Christian Church online: www.stjohnsarchbold.org