From generation to generation

Although I don't fully understand it all, I've always loved the language in the Bible about generations, children, children's children, heritage, and so on. When I was pregnant with Will, I clung to promises like Luke 1:50: "His mercy extends to those who fear Him, from generation to generation." And Psalm 112:1&2: "Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who finds great delight in His commands. His children will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed." And I put Psalm 102:2 in the banner of this blog: "The Lord's renown endures through all generations." Even in the New Testament, in response to the jailer's question about what he must do to be saved, Paul and Silas said: "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved -- you and your household" (Acts 16:31).

I think all of this is on my mind this morning for a couple of reasons: In Daily Light today, the Lord led me to a passage in Isaiah that I have clung to in the past: "O afflicted city, lashed by storms and not comforted, I will build you with stones of turquoise, your foundations with sapphires" (54:11). I remember clinging to this verse during singlehood, and then in the midst of mom's struggles, and then again in the midst of infertility. I know this verse is speaking about Heaven, and I truly can't describe the awe I feel now that one of my most cherished loved ones is there. The Lord has also used this verse to encourage me in the present, kind of in the same way He has used 1 Peter 5:6: "Humble yourselves, therefore, under God's mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time." In my recent past, the Holy Spirit has used these verses to confirm to me that although I was struggling at the time, beauty was coming. This morning, I noticed verse 12 in Isaiah 54, immediately following the sapphires verse: "All your sons will be taught by the Lord, and great will be your children's peace."

I don't want to promote in my own mind an unstudied theology when it comes to these verses. Scripture substantiates again and again that salvation is personal, individual, and a matter of the heart. When I cling to these verses, I am believing that the Lord still works in families and that my faith, personal as it is, matters mysteriously not just for me, but for Will, too. I am stepping out in faith to trust Him with my child's salvation, and I hope that if He has spread His wings over me, He will mercifully do the same for my children. If somehow my clinging in faith and prayer to these verses impacts Will's knowledge of the Lord one day, then cling away I will.

The second reason all of this is on my mind is because we went to visit my grandparents this weekend. My grandfather has been weaving a legacy of faithfulness and service to the Lord and others for 97 years. My grandmother has done the same for 96. I am awed by the obvious reciprocity of faithfulness between them and the Lord for literally almost 100 years.

I guess it's this fascination with and faith in heritage and ancestry that motivated Ryan and me to name Will after our grandfathers. We don't believe in reinventing the wheel. What the Lord revealed to our forefathers, they passed down to us and so it has gone since, right down to our generation and now to Will's. Thankfully, our grandfathers passed down a heritage of faith in Christ. We honor them for that, and we hope and pray, with affirming Scriptures in our hearts, that Will doesn't just carry on their names, but their faith as well.  

August 11, 2013