FROM THE DAWGHOUSE…
May My Children Tell Their Children
I heard a simple statement at church recently that stopped me:
“May my children tell their children.”
What a powerful, spirit-filled statement. I began to think, what if this statement became the prayer of every Christian parent? Not simply…
May my children be successful…nor…may they have a good education, a good career, or a comfortable life.
But…
May my children tell their children about Jesus.
And suddenly, the question becomes much bigger than what we teach our children. It becomes what we show them. It gets to the heart of what we talked about at Forge this week when Pastor Peter gave a message on Ephesians 6: 1-4.
Do they see a faith that is real?
Do they see us love Jesus when life is difficult?
Do they see us open the Bible when no one is watching?
Do they see us pray – not for something, but because we genuinely want to know God?
Do they see us forgive?
Do they see us serve?
Do they see us admit when we’re wrong?
Do they see integrity when there is something to gain by compromising?
Do they see a man or woman whose private life matches their public profession?
Because our children are watching. And what they see today may become the faith they describe to their children someday. Scripture repeatedly reminds us that faith is meant to move from generation to generation.
We are not merely called to believe. We are called to remember, proclaim, and pass it on. Psalm 78 says we should tell the coming generation “the praiseworthy deeds of the LORD,” so that they might put their trust in God.
That’s the vision.
Not that my children would simply know that I was a Christian. But that they would know why I was a Christian. That they would remember how Jesus shaped my decisions, my priorities, my marriage, my friendships, my failures, my forgiveness, and my hope.
And then. years from now, perhaps they will sit around a table with their own children and say: “Let me tell you about Jesus. Let me tell you what He has done. Let me tell you about the faith your grandfather and grandmother had. Let me tell you what they taught me. Let me tell you how they lived.”
That is a legacy worth pursuing.
We spend enormous energy trying to leave something for our children. Maybe we should spend more time becoming someone they can pass on to theirs.
So today, let this be our prayer:
Lord, let my life point my children to You. Let my faith become their faith. Let my love for Jesus become part of their story. And may my children tell their children – and may they tell theirs – about the goodness, grace, and glory of Jesus Christ. May my children tell their children.
Amen.
– Joe Bouch
