What They Didn't Teach Their Kids

Does the Old Testiment section of the Bible bore you to tears? I'll admit, parts of it will do that for me. But other parts are so... real and honest, I guess. This guy loved God but he did this (gasp) and this amazing lady struggled with this but was brave anyway...

I'm really enjoying those OT stories these days. 

And one story in particular just intrigues me: the Isrealites and their 40 year trip to find the perfect neighborhood. 

Think about it...
If God were to do something really miraculous in your church this week, would it be a big deal? Maybe your church's building really needs a new roof and God replaces it all by himself with a strong wind and heavenly shingles. 

Or if your Great Grandpa is raised from the dead at his funeral.

Those things would completely amaze us, WOW us and, I'm going to suggest, they would change us and the way we see God FOREVER.

Some pretty incredible things did happen to the Isrealites. Particularly in the lifetime of Joshua.

Top 3 Eye-popping Miracles:

1. God held up a whole river for them, piled it up, so they could walk across the river bed. Wow. What did that even look like?

2. God made a strong walled city crumble like dry play-doh in front of their eyes. Uh.Mazing.

3. God stopped the sun in it's tracks and extended their day so they could keep fighting. So stinking awesome.

Plus, God let them defeat everybody in their path and finally gave them the perfect neighborhood he had promised to them years ago. 

After all these things happen and the people finally have their land, Joshua calls a big meeting and basically says, "Time to choose. Me and my family, we are all out for God, but you need to decide for yourselves. Are you in or out?"

And all of the people are like "Of course we are in! Look at what God has done for us! He's it! We are serving God. We and our families are in!"

Then the next thing I read, made me freeze mid-sentence. You have got to be kidding me.

After that Generation of people had died, their children grew up and did not know the Lord or what he had done for Isreal.

Judges 2:10

How is this possible? Those young people had stood in front of Joshua yelling "We are in! We are choosing God! We serve the Lord!" And then they failed to pass on their love for God and they failed to teach their kids what God did for them.

This just blows my mind. I have read it over and over again, trying to make sense of it. 

Their children grew up and didn't know the Lord 

or what he had done for Isreal.

In ONE GENERATION!

ONE GENERATION!

I know there is so much here and so many reasons to explore but I feel like God is asking me, 

   and asking you, 

      all of his people,

to be intentional about teaching our kids to adore him...

...to brag about him to our kids... 

...to make this a big deal.

Let us not let it up to the Sunday School teachers or the frazzled VBS staff or to Veggie Tales. 

Let it be US who tells our kids stories of God providing for us personally, healing our hurts, loving us unconditionally!

Let it be US who shows our kids, with passion in our voices, how much God means to us, how he has changed our hearts, how we would gladly do anything for him!

This is not about fearing that we will suck as parents, or sitting in guilt for failure. Fear is not from God and if you have guilt, repent and be done with guilt.

Let this just confirm deep in our spirits, once again, 

That we will teach our kids the beauty of Jesus! 

That it will NOT be our generation that drops the ball!

That we will intentionally pass on our God stories to our kids!