Bridging the Generational Gap in Faith
Judges 2:10b
…and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Somebody dropped the ball! It behooves us, ladies and gentlemen, that if we have one stitch of knowledge of the Holy One, that we instill the same in our children! We do not gain knowledge and truth by osmosis! We must be taught. The same is true of our children. We cannot afford the risks involved in assuming that our children are going to just "catch on" one day! Today, just as found in our text, is a great generational gap. We have on our hands a generation that, for the most, knows very little if anything about the God of the Bible. What happened? Was not our nation founded upon Christian principles? Did not our founding fathers speak boldly and write often of their deep-found commitment to the truths of the Word of God? Where did we go wrong? Though there are many contributing factors, I'll dare say that the number one problem lies not at the feet of the government, nor the casino, nor the bar room, nor the secular educational system, nor the religious institutions of our day, nor the college professor, but at the feet of the parents.
I do not wish to offend my readers, but at the risk of doing so I must say that it's difficult to raise a child in the ways of the Lord when you're an absent parent! You may not be absent in body, nor in provisions, but what about time well spent with your child? I speak to all of us who are parents! It's very easy to pursue the American dream with such vigor that little Johnny grows up under our roof and by the time he's a teenager we barely know him, and worse yet, he barely knows us, much less our God that we say we serve! God help us to get back to spending the appropriate time needed with our children, not in front of the TV, and not at the ball games, though there's nothing wrong with either in moderation, but more importantly in the family altar, and in family devotions, and in the House of God! We cannot say to ourselves, "Well, if they get lost, they'll find their way back home!" This is only wishful thinking, for what if they don't find their way back home? We MUST be diligent to build a legacy of faith and pass it on to the next generation, unless it is said of them, "[they] knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done...".
~ Pastor Gary Caudill
…and there arose another generation after them, which knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done for Israel.
Somebody dropped the ball! It behooves us, ladies and gentlemen, that if we have one stitch of knowledge of the Holy One, that we instill the same in our children! We do not gain knowledge and truth by osmosis! We must be taught. The same is true of our children. We cannot afford the risks involved in assuming that our children are going to just "catch on" one day! Today, just as found in our text, is a great generational gap. We have on our hands a generation that, for the most, knows very little if anything about the God of the Bible. What happened? Was not our nation founded upon Christian principles? Did not our founding fathers speak boldly and write often of their deep-found commitment to the truths of the Word of God? Where did we go wrong? Though there are many contributing factors, I'll dare say that the number one problem lies not at the feet of the government, nor the casino, nor the bar room, nor the secular educational system, nor the religious institutions of our day, nor the college professor, but at the feet of the parents.
I do not wish to offend my readers, but at the risk of doing so I must say that it's difficult to raise a child in the ways of the Lord when you're an absent parent! You may not be absent in body, nor in provisions, but what about time well spent with your child? I speak to all of us who are parents! It's very easy to pursue the American dream with such vigor that little Johnny grows up under our roof and by the time he's a teenager we barely know him, and worse yet, he barely knows us, much less our God that we say we serve! God help us to get back to spending the appropriate time needed with our children, not in front of the TV, and not at the ball games, though there's nothing wrong with either in moderation, but more importantly in the family altar, and in family devotions, and in the House of God! We cannot say to ourselves, "Well, if they get lost, they'll find their way back home!" This is only wishful thinking, for what if they don't find their way back home? We MUST be diligent to build a legacy of faith and pass it on to the next generation, unless it is said of them, "[they] knew not the LORD, nor yet the works which he had done...".
~ Pastor Gary Caudill