At the risk of repeating myself, Ps 78: 4-7 may be described as my mission statement.
‘We will tell the next generation
the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord,
his power, and the wonders he has done.
5 He decreed statutes for Jacob
and established the law in Israel,
which he commanded our ancestors
to teach their children,
6 so the next generation would know them,
even the children yet to be born,
and they in turn would tell their children.
7 Then they would put their trust in God
and would not forget his deeds
but would keep his commands.’ (Ps 78:4-7)
My heart’s desire is to pass on the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done to the next generation and the one after that and even to the children yet to be born. I never really knew my paternal grandfather as he died when I was three months old, but I am so profoundly grateful for his legacy of prayer for me and for the next generations. He was a talented church organist and every time my son plays the piano at church, I am aware of the generational aspect of faith more keenly than ever.
To me, passing on the baton is a crucial aspect of faith. I am profoundly glad to belong to a church with people of all ages, a family church where generations worship alongside each other. I don’t take this for granted and long to be able to live in such a way that encourages others to believe. I long to pass on the stories of what God has done, not only in history but in my life. When I take my granddaughter for walks, I talk to her of the church’s history: how we once were in a building on Beever Street, but God did miracles when we had only about £7000 in the bank and provided us with our current building at a cost of over £160,000, for example. I tell her of the people of faith and how they have seen God work in our village and in our lives. I want her to know that God is real and alive and working today. I want her to listen to the tales of her elders and understand that the God who has worked in the past is still working today.
You can be forgiven for thinking I go on about this a lot: you’re right. I do. I preached a series ‘Passing On the Baton’ in 2013, so I’ve been banging on about this for at least five years! I talked about ‘the next generation’ in 2017 at my granddaughter’s dedication. I make no apologies for this fact. If we do not tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, who will? If we are silent, how will our children, grandchildren and greatgrandchildren know of God’s wonders? The first responsibility is the parents, then the rest of the family, then the wider church family. I feel like Asaph must have done. History is there for us to learn from. We need to pass it on.