……….. We Must Speak; We Must Tell ………..

I will exalt you, my God the King;
I will praise your name forever and ever.
 Every day I will praise you
and extol your name forever and ever.

 Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise;
his greatness no one can fathom.
 One generation will commend your works to another;
they will tell of your mighty acts.
 They will speak of the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and I will meditate on your wonderful works.
 They will tell of the power of your awesome works,
and I will proclaim your great deeds.
 They will celebrate your abundant goodness
and joyfully sing of your righteousness.

 The Lord is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and rich in love.
 The Lord is good to all;
he has compassion on all he has made.
 All you have made will praise you, O Lord;
your saints will extol you.
 They will tell of the glory of your kingdom
and speak of your might,
 so that all men may know of your mighty acts
and the glorious splendor of your kingdom.
 Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and your dominion endures through all generations.

The Lord is faithful to all his promises
and loving toward all he has made.
 The Lord upholds all those who fall
and lifts up all who are bowed down.  Ps 145:1-14 NIV 1984

In these verses I find a challenge to the silence of Christians, and a call to change.  Christians far too often keep their faith to themselves.  They fail to speak out, share with others (especially their own children), and publicly discuss the activity of God in their lives.  If one generation fails to lift up the greatness, the compassion, the love, the glory, the mighty acts, and the faithfulness of God, how is the next generation going to learn?  All of this is plainly evident to all whose eyes are open to see, but until we are filled with God’s Spirit, we are blind.

As parents we need to gently lead our children to Christ, while at the same time pray that God will open their hearts and minds to His truth and His promises.  Then, when they are ready, they will seek Christ and they will find him, and their view of life and their understanding of the value of life and lives will be forever enriched.  Then, one day, it will be their turn to pass this on to their children.

I especially want to focus on parents, because I dropped the ball in this area with my own children.  Hindsight makes things so much clearer, and I can see clearly the effects of my failing to talk about God in our home.

What we have today is a generation whose parents failed in their primary task – to tell their children about the one true God.  I am part of that generation, and I have to confess my part.  I do not understand how I missed the importance of my witness to my children.  It was not enough that I lived a good life, that I had strong faith, that I went to church, and that I prayed regularly.  That was all good, but I failed to talk about my faith, to explain my decisions and how my faith was central in the process.   I failed to teach them Bible verses that they could use later in life when they needed to draw closer to God.  In other words, I did not pass on my faith, I only lived it.  Living it is very important, but it is only part of the process of raising strong Christian children.  Walk the talk, yes, but without the talk the children will never understand the Source for the walk.

Parents I urge you not to make my same mistake.  Walk AND talk, make your love of God, your gratitude for Christ, and your joy with the Spirit, known to your precious ones.  It is the most important gift you can give them, because it will shape their earthly life, and it will open their hearts for God’s message of grace, forgiveness, and eternity.