My Historical Faith

Recently I’ve been doing a word search through the Bible on the phrases “…the God of…” and “…the Lord of…” so far, I’ve been struck with the significance of three connected phrases:

• the God of my fathers
• your God
• the God of your descendants

In considering all this, there seems to be something different and even sacred about following the God of our fathers.

• This isn’t the idea that our adolescents struggle with—“is it my faith or just my parents’ faith?” It is deeper, richer, and more profound than that and comes later in life than that question. The God I have chosen to follow has in ages past been the God my ancestors followed. He guided them. He will also guide me! It also brings a deeper reverence for the agelessness o f the Almighty as well as a sense of community with those who have gone before us. It brings Hebrews 11 – 12:2 alive in that our ancestors’ faith journey is completed in my life and in the life of my children.

There is a full circle that we experience in this process:

• We are raised being surrounded by the faith of our fathers, but in our adolescent years it is incumbent upon us to choose Jesus Christ for ourselves and to follow Him of our own accord. Then the God of our fathers becomes our God (Genesis 26:24).
  As we mature and move on in our faith, we realize how deeply rooted our faith is in our ancestry and how much we are part of the completion of our ancestors spiritual journeys. “They can’t receive the prize at the end of the race until we finish the race” (Hebrews 11:20 nlt). For this reason, they are looking on with anticipation to see how we will run our leg of the race and stand as witnesses to the pivotal points in our faith.
• As the circle continues, I am setting up my children to run this race as individuals who have personally chosen our God to be their God. In turn, if they accept the baton in the race of our historical family faith, they too will run under the watchful and anticipating eyes of the crowd of witnesses from generations past.
• I need to be preparing my children to accept the baton and to run their race well. The best way to do so is to run my race well. In my devotional life, in my thought life, in my speech, in my actions, in my marriage, in my home life…..I need to both teach and model life in Christ. It is incumbent on me to prepare them for their leg of the race and to not hinder or inhibit them in their receiving the baton or running their race.
• In order to effectively run the race and pass on the baton, it is important to know how my ancestors ran or didn’t run—both to inspire me and to warn me. I must also examine myself for similar besetting sins as my forefathers and my own sins and things that weigh me down. I must understand my place in history and in the moment and I must run my leg of the race in the lane assigned me—along the stretch of the course laid out for me. More than anything, to run effectively, I must (as generations past have had to) fix my eyes on Jesus. It is upon Him that our faith—personally and historically—depends and will continue to depend. Jesus both set us up in our faith and wrote our story for us, is our captain and leader, and also is our completion. He helps perfect us. He brings my life to fulfillment as well as bringing the historical tale that I’m a part of to conclusion.
• Moreover, Jesus modeled for all of us—past, present, and future—endurance, fortitude and perseverance—as He endured that shameful death on the Cross. He, Himself, willingly went through this because He knew there was a joyful end to it all. So too for us is awaiting a prize—a crown of righteousness—which the Lord, the Righteous Judge, will award us who have eagerly looked forward to His glorious return (2 Timothy 4:8).

This reflection sets me to consider this question: in light of generations past and in the preparation of generations to come, how am I to live this life in this moment?