“Teach them to your children and to their children after them”
Deuteronomy 4:9 NIV
Today’s Word
During a boys’ rugby practice, John’s father asked him and a friend to show the team how to pass correctly. John had been practicing for weeks, but he was very afraid of making a mistake. He prayed, performed the drill, and exclaimed, “Thank you, Lord!” Later, his father told him, “Son, I’m proud of how hard you worked. But I’m even prouder of the fact that you prayed and gave God the glory.” John shrugged and replied, “I just did what you do.”
Throughout history, God has worked through healthy intergenerational relationships. When sharing His statutes and laws with the Israelites, He commanded that nothing be added to them or taken away from them: “Keep and do them, for that is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations” (Deuteronomy 4:1-2, 6). But God was not only concerned with how others would perceive His people. He commanded: “Teach them to your sons and your sons’ sons” (v. 9). Why? So that they would “learn to fear” God and teach “their children” about Him (v. 10).
We don’t have to be parents or serve in children’s ministry to share our Spirit-inspired faith with the younger generation. Whether we pray for a young person or young family, provide resources for spiritual growth, or offer a word of encouragement, God uses our strong intergenerational relationships to influence the future.
Let’s reflect and pray
How has God used older people to help you grow spiritually? How can you be involved in the spiritual life of a young person or young family?
Spiritual reflections for today
The Israelites were to pass on God’s truth to the next generation (Deuteronomy 4:9). In the New Testament, the apostle Paul writes to Timothy, who was influenced by believing women from two different generations: “I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also” (2 Timothy 1:5). The apostle also noted how God’s truth helped Timothy to grow: “and you know that from infancy you have known the sacred Scriptures, which are able to give you wisdom for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus” (3:15). Today, we can ask God to help us enrich the spiritual lives of future generations.
