This is good stuff:
Exodus 34:6 -7
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, "The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in loving kindness and truth...yet He will by no means leave the guilty unpunished, visiting the iniquity of fathers on the children and on the grandchildren to the third and fourth generations."
Dag Hammerskjold, former Secretary-General of the United Nations, once said, "You cannot play with the animal in you without becoming wholly animal; play with falsehood without forfeiting your right to truth; play with cruelty without losing your sensitivity of mind. He who wants to keep his garden tidy doesn't reserve a plot for weeds."
Did you know that what you grow and cultivate in your garden today could spread to your offspring? Did you know that a sin you now tolerate could still be tormenting your great-grandchildren in the year 2140? That's four generations from now.
Consider the warning of Scripture at the top of this page. What does it mean? Why would God set up a system that visits one generation's sins on three or four other generations?I have a hunch that God is trying to tell us that the way we live impacts others and is of supreme importance to Him. Possibly He's using a warning of future judgment on our descendants to keep us on the straight and narrow today.
Whether you like it or not, your children are becoming just like you. Their little eyes are watching to see how you relate to your mate, how you pray, how you walk with Christ on a daily basis. They hear your words and subconsciously mimic your attitudes, actions and even your mannerisms.
And as time goes by you'll find that they've "inherited" some of the same tendencies towards sin that you learned from your own parents. That's why so many children from broken homes, for example, grow up and fail in their own marriages.
Your kids will grow up to be like you. Is that a sobering thought, or an encouraging one?
Prayer: Is there a sin that you've tolerated in your life that you need to go to God in prayer right now and confess? As you repent, you may want to ask God for grace to protect your children from that sin in the future.
Good Question: In what ways do you want your children to be like you? In what ways do you not want them to be like you?
2 comments:
It's not a secret, but I want to anonymously encourage and uplift the author and manager of this blog. This man has become a true and dear friend to me. This man has a gift from God that he is using to the uttermost of his ability, and to you my friend I say, thanks for the encouragement. Keep it up, brother!
By the way, if you're reading this as a guest of this site, please view the Paul Washer videos linked to the right.
Thanks buddy. Getting to know each of you has been a blessing to Jennifer and myself. We are excited about what God is doing right now and we thank him for putting each of you in our lives.
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