Without the ability to see their grandchildren in person due to risk of infection, many grandparents sought new ways of connecting during the COVID-19 pandemic. A recent survey showed that many grandparents adopted texting and social media as a means to maintain their precious bond with their grandchildren. Some even worshipped with their extended families by video call.
One of the most wonderful ways parents and grandparents can influence their children is by passing down the truths of Scripture. In Deuteronomy 4, Moses charged God’s people to “not forget the things” they’d seen about God “or let them fade from [their] heart[s]” (v. 9). He went on to say that sharing these things with their children and their children’s children would enable them to learn to “revere" Him (v. 10) and to live according to His truth in the land He was giving them.
The relationships God gives us with our families and friends are certainly meant to be enjoyed. By God’s design, they’re also intended to be a conduit to convey His wisdom from one generation to another, “training [them] in righteousness” and equipping them for “every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16–17). When we share God’s truth and work in our lives with the next generation—whether by text, call, video or in-person conversation—we equip them to see and enjoy His work in their own lives.
By Kirsten Holmberg
REFLECT & PRAY
Who has ‘transmitted’ God’s truth to you? With whom can you share His truth today—through a text, a note or an in-person conversation?
Thank You, God, for the legacy of faith You’ve passed on to me. Please help me to lovingly impart that legacy to others.
Moses’ words in Deuteronomy 4 reveal two related aspects of the human condition. First, it’s easy to forget important events and words (v. 9a). Second, to avoid this, we need to intentionally keep important things in the forefront of our minds (v. 9b). We can see how this deliberate call to remember the deeds of God anticipates the cycle of generational spiritual wandering that occurs in the book of Judges.
Here in Deuteronomy, the people are encouraged to pass the memories of the deeds of God on to their “children and to their children after them” (vv. 9–10). In the book of Judges, we read (repeatedly) of both the failure to do this and its consequences (see 3:10–12). In each “cycle” of the book of Judges, the disobedience of Israel arises within a generation or two of God’s deliverance—a seeming neglect of passing on His deeds to their children.
J.R. Hudberg
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