We have all learned something from those who have gone before us. Often these are small things that have been passed from generation to generation. Sometimes these are intentional life lessons, while others are gleaned from observation. In an interesting twist of human nature, we often blame generational curses but are blind to generational blessings. And yet, our psalm for today ends on that exact note.
On this side of the cross, Psalm 22 seems prophetic. We can easily overlay its words on the scene of Christ’s death at Golgotha outside of Jerusalem. Our meditation, however, isn’t on the powerful foretelling but on the psalm’s ending.
“All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord. All the families of the nations will bow down before you, for kingship belongs to the Lord; he rules the nations. All who prosper on earth will eat and bow down; all those who go down to the dust will kneel before him— even the one who cannot preserve his life. Their descendants will serve him; the next generation will be told about the Lord. They will come and declare his righteousness; to a people yet to be born they will declare what he has done.” (Psalm 22:27–31, CSB)
As I read the news, I sometimes wonder why God puts up with us. And yet, we have this prophetic promise that “all the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord.” This promise is echoed later by Paul, “For this reason God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow— in heaven and on earth and under the earth— and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:9–11, CSB)
How? How does faith stand up to the overwhelming pressure of the world, the flesh, and the devil? While we seek to impact those without faith through service and evangelism, another mission field is perhaps more important – the generations following us.
There is the concept of generational curses in the realm of spiritual warfare. What is meant are those habits, addictions, and outcomes that flow through a family’s generations. Often lost, however, are the blessings of generational faith, which are many times stronger. “Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.” (Exodus 20:5–6, CSB) Three or four generations are on one side and a thousand on the other.
Teaching our children faith in Christ is not a side mission; it is our mission. Yes, we must reach out to the dark and dying world. And we must not neglect to teach our children through what we say and do. This means living a life of integrity in our faith in Christ. We can say all the right things but create doubt instead of faith by failing to live out our faith in the sight of our children.
You see, faith is often more caught than taught. We can lecture and cajole with some success. And, yes, we do need to speak the truth of Christ. But how we employ the lessons we speak moves children and others more successfully. How does our life reflect Christ’s truth? The words give them the why; our lived-out example gives them the how. Combined, they invoke a blessing that will extend even to the unborn.
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