In the past year several elderly family members passed away, one of which was my mother-in-law, who was 100 years old. Among the stories that were shared by the adult children at the funerals were memories of going to church with their parents and learning about God when they were very young.
As I reflected on this I realized that if the older generation would not have been faithful in passing on their faith, the chain of faith would be broken. It would only take one generation, one link in the chain, to break that chain of faith that has been continuing for years.
Jesus walked this earth over 2,000 years ago. And here we are, centuries later, still talking about Him, believing, praying, going to church, studying God’s Word, and teaching what we believe to our children. We are passing on what we’ve learned, what Jesus has done for us, how to walk in faith, how to persevere, how to pray and how to learn more about God through His Word.
The next link in the chain of faith
After one of the funerals, I talked to several members of the younger generation and shared this with them: Please don’t break the chain! You are the next link in the chain of faith that has been held strong for over 2,000 years. Don’t be the link that breaks our family’s faithfulness. Believe, learn, go to church, be faithful to the Lord. When you have children, raise them to be Christians. It’s up to you to carry on what your grandparents and parents have taught and modeled for you. Let their faithfulness inspire you! Don’t let go of that or the chain will break!
Threats to the links in the chain
There are people who say, “I’ll let my children choose their religion for themselves when they get older.” Or some say, “I believe in God, but I don’t need to go to church.” Others may say, “One of these days, I’ll make time to read the Bible more, but right now I’m just too busy.”
Listen up! Indifference to the powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ is what causes the links in the chain to break! Passivity to the things of God prove disinterest, disregard and disrespect to the many generations that were faithful in strengthening their link in the chain. In fact, there are many people who risked their lives to keep their link from breaking. Some were actually killed as they tried to pass on their faith. And others were martyred for their part in translating Scriptures and spreading it throughout the world so that you and I could own a Bible and study God’s Word. Still today, there are Christians in different countries that are enduring persecution and imprisonment in order to keep their link in the chain unbroken.
Our faithfulness
Our link in the chain of faith is directly dependent on what we do today, while the link is still within our grasp. And what we choose to do will affect the chain for the next generation.
Our precious elderly family members were faithful, even in this difficult, sinful and confusing world. We are inspired by their faithfulness in passing on the pure and simple message of the Gospel to the next generation. And here we are, ready to continue keeping the chain of faith strong and unbroken. Let’s inspire the next generation with our own steadfast, committed faithfulness!
Laurie Driesen 