Pass it On

Good Morning,

We have heard with our ears, O God; our fathers have told us the work You did in their days, in the days of old. With Your hand You drove out the nations and planted our fathers there; You crushed the peoples and cast them out. For it was not by their sword that they took the land; their arm did not bring them victory. It was by Your right hand, Your arm, and the light of Your face, because You favored them. Ps. 44:1-3

Without question there is value in knowing and passing on the amazing stories of incredible miracles performed by God long ago. How he provided food in the dessert and shelter in the storms. How he destroyed enemies and parted waters. How Jesus raised people to life, healed the sick and brought sight to the blind. In the verses above we read how the current generation learned of these things from their fathers. They had passed this along so younger generations would always know how powerful and capable God is.

These are not the only stories we should be passing on to the next generation. What about your own God stories? Your personal moments of God coming through for you. These are at least as important, because for our kids and grandkids need more than a history lesson. They need to hear real life, present day God encounters from living, breathing people they personally know. It helps them understand that God is not just the Great God of history. He is also the Great God of the present and He is personal.

Some of you may be thinking that your stories aren’t as dramatic as those we celebrate from the Bible. That is likely true for most of us. But that in no way diminishes their significance. In fact, we tend to overlook the regular, everyday ways in which God provides. While often less dramatic, they are just as profound. They help us see that God is not just present in the extraordinary, He is present in the ordinary as well. 

Things like getting a raise in pay at just the right time, getting pregnant when the doctors told you you couldn’t, receiving a scholarship you were hoping for, protection on the highway when your car broke down, a relationship restored through forgiveness, or freedom from an addiction. How about the fact that you likely have never had to go hungry, always had clothes to wear and shoes to put on? Not everyone across the globe can say that. It is a big deal. 

Accounts like this matter. Your stories matter. God does not waste a single moment of your life and each of these God moments is a chance to make Him known. I’d like to paraphrase the verses above in a way that provides a challenge for each of us as we seek to help the next generation put their trust in God.

I have heard it with my own ears. My mom, dad, grandpa, and grandma all told me about how God keeps coming through for them. How He is amazing in the big things, and in the everyday happenings of their life. God really is incredible. They told me how I can always depend on Him and how much he loves me.

Live on purpose,
Ron Klopfenstein