Passing the Promises to Our Children

Are we as parents living our lives in such a way that God is easily forgettable to our children who are watching?  Is our walk with Christ actually seen as important in the eyes of our children?

It's always entertaining to watch videos of children being interviewed about their life and what's important. Whether they are talking about their mom and dad, or what they think about God or their home or their school, you'll always find a similar theme. Children are brutally honest about what they observe. Our children pick up on everything that they see and hear. Want to know where most of their bad habits come from? WE usually don't need to look any further than ourselves!

So what are we passing on to our children when it concerns our faith in Jesus Christ? What are they observing in us?

When Moses gave his farewell speech to the children of Israel as they were preparing to enter the Promised Land, he warned them,

"Beware lest you forget Yahweh your God by not keeping His commandments and His judgments and His statutes which I am commanding you today . . . lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand made me this wealth.’ But you shall remember Yahweh your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day." - Deuteronomy 8:11, 17-18

This is the generation that were children when their parents were brought out of Egypt. They had seen all of God's mighty deeds in Egypt and they had seen all of the consequences of their parents in disobeying the Lord in the wilderness, as they wandered for 40 years.

Joshua gives a similar warning before his death, and it comes in Judges that after him and all of this generation who had entered the primised land died, that "there arose another generation after them who did not know Yahweh or even the work which He had done for Israel." - Judges 2:10b

What happened that this new generation did not know the Lord? Their parents had faithfully served the Lord. They were brave enough to enter and conquer the Promised Land, and yet their children seem to know nothing about the God who brought them there in the first place. How was it that their children did not know the Lord or the work that He had done?

Somehow, in the midst of the comforts that their parents had obtained, they failed to pass along to their children knowledge of the One who had provided such comforts. It's easy for us that once we've achieved something that we easily forget what got us there in the first place. We're a lot like this too are we not? It's easy for us to remember to cry out to God when our family is in need, but when we have all that we need, how quickly do we forget to stop and remember and thank the One who provided for us?

If we become complacent in our own walk with he Lord as parents, we should not be surprised to find that our children too are complacent about following God. Can we reasonably expect our children to remain in the church as adults if we as families are attending church a couple times a month at best, and maybe attending a weekly Bible study if we're really dedicated? To the outside observer, does our life really reflect a need for God? What about to our children, who are seeing all that we say and do?

Join us in this week's episode as we talk about what it takes for a generation to pass on the promises of God.

And enjoy this song from the Getty's that our family has enjoyed about Passing the Promise