Every Christian is in one of three places in a spiritual legacy. First, they may be in the midst of a godly heritage. Their parents, and grandparents, and even their great grandparents may have been devout followers of Jesus. This describes my family heritage. As far back as we can trace, Blackabys have walked with God. My great grandfather and his two brothers attended Spurgeon’s College when Spurgeon led it. It is no surprise, then, that my family tree has produced numerous Baptist ministers.
A second position may be that a person is at the fountainhead of a brand new spiritual legacy. They may be first generation Christians. This can be difficult as such people have not grown up in a Christian home and they must learn many things about rearing godly children that comes naturally to third generation believers. Nonetheless, one day their great grandchildren may well look back fondly upon them and thank God that they set in motion a belief in God that continued for generations afterward.
The third way people deal with spiritual legacies is that they bring them to an end. It has been said that we are always just one generation away from total paganism. When you fail to raise your children to love and serve the Lord, you effectively bring an end to the Christian legacy that was handed to you. This, of course, is the one position you want to avoid at all cost.
Perhaps the most often used Bible verse to place on the wall of a Christian home comes from the warrior Joshua: “. . . choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve . . . But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.” (Josh. 24:15). This bold statement by a dedicated father has resounded through the ages to our day. But was Joshua successful? Scripture informs us that as long as Joshua was alive, the people he led followed God (Judges 2:7). But the measure of a great leader is not whether the people followed him while he led, but whether the people continued to follow his example long after he was gone.
Scripture declares: “When all that generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation arose after them who did not know the Lord nor the work which He had done for Israel. Then the children of Israel did evil in the sight of the Lord, and served the Baals.” (Judges 2:10-11). The generation after Joshua did not know the Lord or the mighty works He had done. Could it be possible to have Joshua for your father and yet to not know Joshua’s God? The Bible is silent about Joshua’s children. Perhaps they followed God. But when their generation turned away from God, there is no mention that they took their stand for God as their father had done.
Consider the first Father figure in the Bible. God. He was the parent figure to Adam and Eve. God provided them a paradise for a home. He had only one rule for them to obey. He regularly spent time with them. Yet they rebelled and chose to go their own way. Adam was the first human father. His son Cain murdered his brother Abel and spent the rest of his life under a curse (Gen. 4:1-15). Noah was the most righteous man on the planet, yet his son Ham shamed him and spent the final years of his life under a curse (Gen. 9:24-27). Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. Yet he fathered a son Ishmael who would not be his heir (Gen. 17:18-25). He also lied twice about his wife Sarah, claiming she was his sister (Gen. 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Isaac, Abraham’s son, would lie about his wife being his sister as well (Gen. 26:1-11). Isaac’s son Jacob would take deception to another level, tricking his own brother and lying to his father (Gen. 27:1-29). Not surprisingly, Jacob’s ten older sons would lie to him about their brother Joseph’s disappearance (Gen. 37:31-36). And these were the patriarchs! The founders of the people of God!
Eli was the chief priest during the time of the judges, yet his sons Hophni and Phinehas were so evil that God had them killed (1 Sam. 2:25). Samuel, who replaced Eli, had two sons who also grew up to be wicked (1 Sam. 8:1-8). King David, a man after God’s own heart, suffered repeatedly because of his children. His son Amnon raped his sister Tamar (2 Sam. 13:1-22). His son Absalom murdered his brother Amnon and eventually led a revolt against his father (2 Sam. 13:37-39; 16-18). Adonijah attempted to usurp David’s kingdom near the end of David’s life (1 Kings 1:6). Many of the noblest kings of Judah raised evil sons. King Jehoshaphat was a godly king, but he was succeeded by his evil son Jehoram (2 Kings 8:18). King Hezekiah was also a godly king, but he was succeeded by Manasseh, one of the most evil kings in Judah’s history (2 Kings 21:1-18). King Josiah was another righteous king, but he was succeeded by sons who were wicked and brought the kingdom to its final ruin (2 Kings 23:32-37).
The fact is, we are hard pressed to find a godly father who raised a godly son. We hear nothing of Moses’ son after he became an adult. Great prophets such as Isaiah had sons, but we know nothing of them as adults.
What do we conclude from this? It’s not easy to raise godly children! In fact, I would argue that it is humanly impossible. You must have God’s help. God’s intent is that He will produce generation after generation of godly seed who will be a blessing to their city and nation and to the world. God’s intent is that each generation would stand on the spiritual shoulders of the generation before them, reaching ever increasing heights in their walk with God.
I have seen this in my family. My great uncle was a pastor in England who wrote a book about his church near the end of his life. My grandfather had several poems published in his later years. My father wrote Experiencing God when he was 55. I wrote my first book when I was 32. My sons wrote their first book when they were 22. I expect my grandchildren will write their first book while they are still preschoolers! I was able to write a book because my father was an acclaimed author who helped me. My children have all written books, in part, because I helped them.
When I began having grandchildren four years ago, I started a prayer journal for all six of them. Every time I hear of them doing something that reflects God working in their life, I write it down and begin praying for them. Recently my twin grandsons, Emerson and Logan, were getting dressed for bed. Their mom handed them each a pair of pajamas. Logan’s, however, did not match. He burst into tears at facing the humiliation of sleeping in unmatching pajamas. Without saying a word, Emerson stripped off his pajamas and handed them to his brother. Then he put Logan’s pajamas on. I was moved to see the sacrificial love that Emerson had for his brother. I wrote that incident in Emerson’s prayer journal. Then I wrote a prayer that no matter how old Emerson became, he would always have a generous, sacrificial spirit toward those in need. I prayed that God would use him many, many times over the years to bring comfort to those who were hurting. He was only four, but already God was using him to bring joy to others. I intend to give my grandchildren their prayer journals one day. Then they’ll learn about what I saw God doing in their lives when they were children and youth. Perhaps that will encourage them to continue with the good work God began in them.
In the same way, we must help our children find their way into a loving, committed relationship with God. Simply taking them to church each week will not get that done. We need to talk regularly with our kids about God and His ways. Many families talk regularly around the dinner table about politics or sports or the weather, but never about God. Many fathers can recite the batting averages of baseball players long-since retired, yet they cannot quote any Scriptures. Children often see their parents reading the news, but never the Bible. If we want to raise up a godly generation, we must be intentional about doing so!
As with all worthy undertakings in life, we cannot go back in the past to “do it right” this time. But we can start
where we are today and “do today” well. If you have made mistakes and fallen short in your parenting in the past, God will not load you down with
guilt. Rather, He will show you what adjustments you need to make so you begin to steer your children in a Godward direction. It is never too late to begin influencing your children and grandchildren for good. May God bless your efforts in that endeavor and may your descendants be a gift of God to all who meet them.
