In the bargain area of major bookstores, there is often a blank journal with questions and writing prompts. The encouragement is to give the blank journal to a parent or grandparent to complete. The journal seeks to capture some of the great family stories and traditions passed down from generation to generation. Too often these stories are lost because of a lack of connection with the previous generations through distance or death. It is important in life to pass down the family stories from generation to generation to maintain our connection to our heritage.
It is the same with the Gospel of the Kingdom of God. It is crucial for us to pass the story down from generation to generation. It is imperative that each generation undertakes the responsibility to tell of God’s wonderful love and God’s unending faithfulness throughout the generations. In Psalm 78:1-4 we read:
My people, hear my teaching;
listen to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth with a parable;
I will utter hidden things, things from of old—
things we have heard and known,
things our ancestors have told us.
We will not hide them from their descendants;
we will tell the next generation.
Good news is something we do not hide. We proclaim our good news of children being born, of new jobs, of marriage proposals, and of goals reached. Through our social media platforms and digital ability to broadcast our news, we post once to announce the good news, open ourselves to the comments and congratulations, and the announcement lives perpetually.
The importance of proclaiming the truth of God necessitates a persistent intentionality where we “open our mouths with a parable to utter hidden things, things of old.” Just like we tell the story of the time the car got stuck in the snow or the story about the great grandmother who won the state fair marmalade contest, we need to testify to God’s goodness in our lives and in the life of our family. We need to pass more than doctrine from one generation to another—we need to pass down the intersection of our lives and the Gospel that radically transforms us.
Psalm 78 is a favorite for me because it reminds me to keep telling the story; keep testifying to what God has done. As the great Ernest Nichol hymn proclaims, “We’ve a story to tell to the Nations.” It also reminds me of Romans 10:14-15, “But how are they to call on the one in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in one whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone to proclaim him? And how are they to proclaim him unless they are sent? As it is written, ‘How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!’”
Let us not hide these truths from our present generation or the generations to come. Let us open our mouths to proclaim the truth of the Gospel of the Kingdom of God.
Prayer: Give me confidence, O Lord, to proclaim your Truth. I want these parables and experiences to be passed down so others will come to know you are the Christ. Forgive me when I have not been intentional in passing your Truth to other generations. Stir inside of me a burning desire to tell the story. In Jesus’ name. Amen.