“And when your children ask you, ‘What does this ceremony mean to you?’ then tell them, ‘It is the Passover sacrifice to the Lord, who passed over the houses of the Israelites in Egypt and spared our homes when he struck down the Egyptians.’ Then the people bowed down and worshiped.” (Exodus 12:26, 27 NIV84)
If you take a serious look into the Old Testament, you can’t help but see the thematic way the Israelites dealt with the times God intersected their lives. They piled rocks, built altars, and established annual commemorations. All of these practices had some important significance. They wanted to put a stake down in earthly time to commemorate when God met them in that moment. It was a way of saying, “It was real!” They also did it so future generations would pass by those rocks, altars and festival days, and deal with the reality that God loves His people so much that He enters our world. Moses constantly mentions the fact that when the children asked what that altar was or what the reason was behind the festival they were celebrating, it was the parents’ responsibility to properly explain to their children all that God had done.
This same truth exists today. The pastor and the Sunday school teachers are not solely responsible for explaining this truth to your children. It is your job as parents and grandparents to explain these truths. It is our job as preachers and teachers to reaffirm the truth you set in place. I would encourage you to include, not only the known events recorded in Holy Scripture, but also all the ways God has intervened into your lives as a family over the years. Only by doing it this way will our children find the events relevant to their lives. What do you need to do? It’s simple! Just tell your story. Tell them when and how God worked in your lives to bring grace and mercy to a situation you were experiencing. By this, you will be teaching them to do the same for themselves and their children.
We have this generational responsibility!
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
