Grandchildren

Monday, January 11, 2016

Day 11, Step 4: Grandchildren

They’ll rebuild the old ruins,    raise a new city out of the wreckage.
They’ll start over on the ruined cities,    take the rubble left behind and make it new. (Isaiah 61:3-4 MSG)

Lofty, strong and magnificent, distinguished for uprightness, justice and right standing with God. The planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified. (AMP)

In Christ’s family there can be no division into Jew and non-Jew, slave and free, male and female. Among us you are all equal. (Galatians 3:28 MSG)

You can tell for sure that you are now fully adopted as his own children because God sent the Spirit of his Son into our lives crying out, “Papa! Father!” Doesn’t that privilege of intimate conversation with God make it plain that you are not a slave, but a child? And if you are a child, you’re also an heir, with complete access to the inheritance. (Galatians 4:6-7 MSG)

On a news channel reporting on the international summit on climate change, I heard someone say something to this effect: 

“We are the first generation to recognize the significance of global climate change. We are the last generation able to do something about it.”

He was young enough to be our grandchild.

In these readings, God set the groundwork many generations ago. Isaiah the prophet had a wife, and since the Scripture does not say otherwise, I suspect he had children and grandchildren. God told us over and over from the time of Isaiah, a prophet of Judah in the 8^th century BC, and I know biblically long before that, clear back to Noah and even Adam, we would keep leaving a mess for our children and grandchildren to clean up.

However, we are always asked if we left them the tools, the inheritance they need to do the job their generation must do?

Paul, the apostle, tells us over and over God has no grandchildren. Each generation we stand only one generation from the extinction of Christianity. Do we live a life that will call our children and grandchildren to believe?

Have we taught them love is unconditional, so they will recognize it in Jesus, and give it to others? Have we apologized, so they know, we know, we too, are not perfect? However, we know perfection as have those who went before us? 

Have we called them who they are:

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                                                                                      ELAN: strong oak, great light, the essence of life

     

                                                     GEORGE: guardian of the soil

      DAVIS: sons of David the King,

·         
       

                                                                            MEREDITH: protector of the sea,

·                                                                                  ANN: grace, love, 

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         All, home grown and collected:  sons and daughters of the God of creation and salvation?

Have we taught them everything they need to know about staying connected to us, to their parents, their siblings, their cousins, because that is where they can always draw strength to live and to do?

Do we make it possible for them to see us caring for elderly parents, so they will know how to care for theirs when the time comes? Do they see us supporting their parents, so they can learn how to help their children? Do they see us loving, caring and serving?

No answers, just questions. Have we prepared them to be a generation that recognizes the needs of creation and the created? Have we prepared them to be the ones who will do something to preserve and defend?

Baby step four:

• ·        Live and love where our grandchildren can see the good
•       Tell our grandchildren stories 
•       Invite our grandchildren to be a part of a bigger story.

What do your grandchildren need to know? What have you taught them? Tell us because our grandchildren need to know, too.