So often we focus more on our areas of disagreement than we do agreement. This is true in so many areas of our life, including our faith. When parents and teenagers have arguments, it is often a result of focusing on the areas where they don’t see eye to eye.
One of the things I have learned is that when we sit around and talk, we tend to focus on differences, but when we serve alongside each other, we are more likely to focus on our areas of agreement.
As I look back on the words of Scripture and God’s wisdom, I find that passing on our faith to the next generation requires words and action. Consider the words Moses spoke to the people of God…
These are the commands, decrees and laws the Lord your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life. Hear, Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the Lord, the God of your ancestors, promised you. (Deuteronomy 6:1-3)
Carefully reread what Moses said in the middle of this passage: “…so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the Lord your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you…” The way to pass on faith is by living out your faith. Faith is not primarily exclusively a set of ideas to teach; it is a way of life. If we are going to pass on our faith to the next generation, we must live it out.
There are significant implications for this. If we are going to teach our children how to live out their faith, we must begin by examining how we live out our faith, not how they live out theirs. Of course, offering advice and correction to the younger generation is a vital part of our role as parents and teachers, but we cannot lose sight of the fact that they will first and foremost learn from our actions, not our words.
I believe that one of the biggest challenges every generation faces in passing on their faith is modeling what it means to be a follower of Christ. It can be easy for us to tell someone else how they should live. The more difficult aspect of passing on our faith is living it out so it can be witnessed by others.
This will require everyone to practice an extra measure of grace and humility. Grace to extend towards others when they fall short and humility to acknowledge when we fall short. If we can embrace grace and humility with an attitude of love, then faith can be passed on from generation to generation in way that can extend the Kingdom of God until Christ returns.
shine!
Jason
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Generations to come
One of the most well known passages in the Old Testament is found in the book of Deuteronomy. It is called the Shema and is one of the most important passages in the prayer life of the Jewish people.
These words are often recited at the beginning and end of the day and would be words that many Jews would have committed to memory. Here are the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
I believe that one of the reasons these words are so important to the Jewish people is because they are so foundational to what it means to be the people of God and pass that faith on to the next generation. Let’s consider the implications of this short, but powerful, passage of Scripture.
It begins with the idea that the Lord is our God and that we must learn to love the Lord with all we have and are. Our emotions. Our inner being. Our bodies. God’s love must flow into every aspect of who we are, inside and out.
I think the idea here is that God so fills us that God will pour out of us. And as that happens, one generation passes their faith onto the next generation as a natural byproduct of being immersed in the Kingdom.
Most statistics state that 60%-90% of young people today will leave the church when they graduate. The question so many people ask is why. I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but here are two reasons that I believe are a part of the issue at hand.
The first one goes back to this idea of God pouring out of us. Before we question how passionate the younger generation is about God and the Kingdom, I believe that we should make an honest assessment of our own spiritual situation. Are we so filled with the Kingdom that it naturally flows out of us? I could spend a lot more time on this, but I will leave that question for us to wrestle with.
Second, are we attempting to pass on our faith in a way that is relevant to the upcoming generation? I don’t believe that we change the underlying values of God’s Kingdom, but do we need to be more open to how the Kingdom manifests itself in the next generation? Every generation tends to believe that their way of expressing the Kingdom of God is the best and right way. However, we must be open to considering that it is only a way, not the way. What if we were more open to new methods of living out what it means to live in the Kingdom of God?
These can be daunting questions that are not always easy to answer, but if we are going to be true to the words of Deuteronomy 6, every generation has to honestly consider the two questions above and respond accordingly. When we do, God will be able to do amazing things through us, and the generations to come.
shine!
Jason
These words are often recited at the beginning and end of the day and would be words that many Jews would have committed to memory. Here are the words of Deuteronomy 6:4-9:
Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.
I believe that one of the reasons these words are so important to the Jewish people is because they are so foundational to what it means to be the people of God and pass that faith on to the next generation. Let’s consider the implications of this short, but powerful, passage of Scripture.
It begins with the idea that the Lord is our God and that we must learn to love the Lord with all we have and are. Our emotions. Our inner being. Our bodies. God’s love must flow into every aspect of who we are, inside and out.
I think the idea here is that God so fills us that God will pour out of us. And as that happens, one generation passes their faith onto the next generation as a natural byproduct of being immersed in the Kingdom.
Most statistics state that 60%-90% of young people today will leave the church when they graduate. The question so many people ask is why. I don’t pretend to have all of the answers, but here are two reasons that I believe are a part of the issue at hand.
The first one goes back to this idea of God pouring out of us. Before we question how passionate the younger generation is about God and the Kingdom, I believe that we should make an honest assessment of our own spiritual situation. Are we so filled with the Kingdom that it naturally flows out of us? I could spend a lot more time on this, but I will leave that question for us to wrestle with.
Second, are we attempting to pass on our faith in a way that is relevant to the upcoming generation? I don’t believe that we change the underlying values of God’s Kingdom, but do we need to be more open to how the Kingdom manifests itself in the next generation? Every generation tends to believe that their way of expressing the Kingdom of God is the best and right way. However, we must be open to considering that it is only a way, not the way. What if we were more open to new methods of living out what it means to live in the Kingdom of God?
These can be daunting questions that are not always easy to answer, but if we are going to be true to the words of Deuteronomy 6, every generation has to honestly consider the two questions above and respond accordingly. When we do, God will be able to do amazing things through us, and the generations to come.
shine!
Jason
Sunday, November 04, 2012
Something worth dying for
As Jesus prepares to send the Twelve out to spread the message of the Kingdom, he gives them some amazing instructions and some warnings that may seem daunting…
“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.” (Matthew 10:16-17)
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22)
But in the midst of all of these warnings and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles before them, Jesus speaks these words to those same disciples…
“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:26-31)
Jesus reminds them, and us, that we do have a significant task before us. It may require sacrifice for now, but there is nothing to fear. God will be with us regardless of what we face. We may not have to physically die today, but we have to be willing to die in some other way as we seek to share the Kingdom of God. Near the end of this same chapter, Matthew records the following words of Jesus…
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:38-42)
Are you willing to take up your cross? To lose your life? Jesus said that the reward for those who are willing will be something worth dying for.
shine!
Jason
“As you go, proclaim this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven has come near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse those who have leprosy, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.” (Matthew 10:7-8)
“I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves. Be on your guard; you will be handed over to the local councils and be flogged in the synagogues.” (Matthew 10:16-17)
“Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. You will be hated by everyone because of me, but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22)
But in the midst of all of these warnings and the seemingly insurmountable obstacles before them, Jesus speaks these words to those same disciples…
“So do not be afraid of them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the roofs. Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.” (Matthew 10:26-31)
Jesus reminds them, and us, that we do have a significant task before us. It may require sacrifice for now, but there is nothing to fear. God will be with us regardless of what we face. We may not have to physically die today, but we have to be willing to die in some other way as we seek to share the Kingdom of God. Near the end of this same chapter, Matthew records the following words of Jesus…
“Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds their life will lose it, and whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
“Anyone who welcomes you welcomes me, and anyone who welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. Whoever welcomes a prophet as a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever welcomes a righteous person as a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward. And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones who is my disciple, truly I tell you, that person will certainly not lose their reward.” (Matthew 10:38-42)
Are you willing to take up your cross? To lose your life? Jesus said that the reward for those who are willing will be something worth dying for.
shine!
Jason
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