Resources/Articles
Keeping Your Faith Alive (35)
Aged men...aged women...admonish the
young women to love their husbands,
to love their children...
the younger men likewise
exhort to be soberminded.
Titus 2:2-6
Grandparents, as aged men and women, are called upon to be the greatest exhorters, examples, teachers, and trainers of the young. They are more than trainers of their own children or grandchildren. There are a host of young men and women, boys and girls in the church and in the world who can benefit from the faith of grandparents. For this to happen, grandparents should understand the value of legacy. The value of their heritage is best stated in Psalm 112:1-2: “Praise ye Jehovah. Blessed is the man that feareth Jehovah, that delighteth greatly in His commandments. His seed shall be mighty upon the earth: The generation of the upright shall be blessed.”
What the next two generations learn from godly grandparents today is not just the how to have a good time, how to fish, or how to bake homemade cookies. It is the modeling of their faith. It is where they stand on difficult topics. It is the wise choices they made in the face of criticism. It is hearing them explain the reason for their sacrifices and devotions came from God and His word. We learn from them, not because they were tough farmers and their skin was rough and worn from the sun beating down on their skin. This is a matter of their character and moral fortitude.
In a sense, it seems strange that grandparents can have such far-reaching influence. After all, they can be separated in age from their grandchildren by 40 to 70 years. They have an uncanny ability to bridge a generation gap, sometimes better than parents can. There is really no generation gap here. What we have are relationships. We have older people who understand their responsibilities and act upon them. They are not sitting back and letting the younger people do the work of the Lord. They are leaders of the teaching and the guides to the truth. Their love shines through the attention they give to their responsibilities and opportunities. Grandparents pray hard. They care deeply. They cheer with zeal for the Lord’s work to be carried on in the next “older generation” which will arrive after them. They keep faith alive. Faith every generation needs to diligently seek God (Hebrews 11:6).
