I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
Generational faith is not spiritual truth or guarantee. Just because you have parents of faith does not mean you will be a person of faith. Each person is obligated to come to Jesus by faith based upon their belief that Jesus is the Son of God and died for their sins. We might inherit houses and finances and troubles from our parents. But we do not inherit faith. Yet, when we see faith in each generation, it is time for us to pause and to celebrate. This is Paul’s beginning comments to young Pastor Timothy in the above passage. Paul is not claiming that Timothy was given faith from his mother and grandmother. He was recognizing that their faith was spoken to Timothy and he, too, came to the same saving faith as they had. He is rejoicing in that good fact. Too many people do believe that since their parents went to church and took them to church, they, somehow, breathed in faith and are now saved. This is not the case. Each person must be born again. Nicodemus is a great example of this. This man came to Jesus by night to ask about Jesus and His power to teach and preform miracles. He was a Pharisees. This was a very religious group that controlled the religious power of the day. He was a teacher. In fact Jesus would call him a master-teacher during their discussion. He was part of the legal body of the Jews called the Sanhedrin. Most commentators state he was one of the richest men in all Jerusalem in those days. This man had a complete dose of generational faith. But he was still told by Jesus:
John 3:3 (ESV)
Jesus answered him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
We can’t rely on the faith of those before us, around us or related to us. We can’t rely upon our religious positions. We all must be born again. Paul is rejoicing that Timothy was born again and for that he writes this opening salutation to the young man. He could not have his faith passed onto him, but Timothy is demonstrating a faith that was demonstrated to him by his mother and grandmother. We can’t hand our faith to our children but we can live our faith in front of our children.
No comments:
Post a Comment