Forming a New Generation

I get so excited when I think about those of you who are first generation Christians. I imagine you sometimes feel like you are in uncharted territory. You sometimes wonder if you are hopelessly stuck in the same patterns of thought and action that you saw in your parents. I hope God will encourage you today, with the reminder that the cross of Christ is powerful to change hearts. The cross is powerful enough to win victory over the anger, the selfishness, the fear, the depression, that you learned from your parents. I hope you will rejoice in the opportunity to start a heritage of godliness. Stop making excuses, and recommit yourselves today to the responsibility and opportunity of raising a new generation.

And then my heart is drawn to those of you who are second and third generation Christians like me. I've seen so many teenagers and young adults despise their Christian home, and turn away in bitterness and anger. And I've seen so many teenagers and young adults who love their godly parents and gladly commit themselves to the same Word, the same God, the same purposes for life. And they speak up and praise their parents, but they honor their parents most of all by living God-honoring lives of faithfulness. Oh how I long for our young people to be the second, rather than the first. To speak up and praise the Lord for the blessing of godly parents, and then follow that godly legacy.