Heritage

I was challenged yesterday by Jay’s sermon and was immediately able to apply it to many areas of my life.  I hope by sharing my thoughts, you too will be challenged.

The basic premise of his sermon was “Traveling with Joy” and “pressing on.”  His passage was Phillipians 3:8 – 14.  Expecting this to be another one of the same sermons I’ve heard for many years, I listened half heartedly.  That was until he mentioned a verse in Psalms.  Psalms 78:4-8.  “We do not keep them from our children; we recite them to the next generation, The praiseworthy and mighty deeds of the LORD, the wonders that he performed.  God set up a decree in Jacob, established a law in Israel: What he commanded our ancestors, they were to teach their children; That the next generation might come to know, children yet to be born. In turn they were to recite them to their children, that they too might put their trust in God, And not forget the works of God, keeping his commandments. They were not to be like their ancestors, a rebellious and defiant generation, A generation whose heart was not constant, whose spirit was not faithful to God,”  Wow!  I didn’t know these verses existed.  This whole passage talks about the older generation sharing with the younger where they’ve been, how they got through, what God did through them and for them, and where they are now.  My heart was pricked almost instantaneously.  Jay went on to say that it isn’t good enough to rest on the accomplishments of the past and that we need to continiuously experience God. 

My thoughts went as such and please forgive me if I ramble or repeat the same thought.  How many times have I relied on the personal spiritual victories of my past thinking that I would automatically get through the stuff in the future because I’ve had those experiences?  How many times have I decided not to share part of my past for fear that I would be judged or not taken seriously?  My mind went toward one of my favorite quotes which has become so true for me – “Those who forget the past will be condemned to repeat it.”  Lately I’ve been able to apply this to the family history which is so important to me now.  As a result I’ve been able to see the blessings of my raising.  I have learned that the “sins of the forefathers” have been broken and my heart has been challenged just knowing some basic information of how they lived such as the generations of laborers, seamstresses, etc.  It has become increasingly more important to me to learn sewing so I can share it with my children so the ability doesn’t die with my generation.  How much more would I be challenged if the elders of my past were to share their life experiences more willingly, both physical and spiritual?  How much more of a heritage would we have and know about?  My heart took yet another turn.

How can I share my experiences and past, as an elder to the children, if I myself am not continually challenged both spritiually and physically.  You see, this has immediate application to both my physical life as well as my spiritual life.  We ought to be noting our spiritual valleys and mountain tops and sharing them.  It is just the same with some experiences in life.  How else can we and our younger generation learn from the past?  I feel it is important to be transparent with our family members so that we have a godly heritage to pass down.  What an encouragement for others when they see that the people in their life have “been there, done that.”  It has a way of humanizing them a little bit more.  So often it is easy to see the older people in our life and not realize that they were our age at one time too.  I don’t want my sister’s kids or my future ones to experience life without knowing their heritage.  After all, it was so important that God set a decree.  This was important stuff!

I can’t say that I have completely wrapped my head around all that is going on in my heart. I know it will be a while but I’m challenged to know scripture and to speak scripture to my children.  I’m challenged to track the blessings of God in my life and in the life of my marriage. I’m challenged to ask more questions and to share more openly.  I’m challenged.  Am I up for the challenge?  Paul was.  He pressed on toward the goal of the high calling.  Will we?