At first glance, God seems a bit unfair.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God accuses the people of infidelity. After having experienced God’s power and might, they “went after things that do not profit.” It’s understandable God would be angry with them. I would be, too.
But then God says, “Therefore once more I accuse you, says the Lord, and I accuse your children’s children.” How unfair is that for the children? They didn’t decide to forget the God who brought them out of Egypt. They didn’t defile God’s land. They weren’t even there. Blame the people who did, God, but leave the children alone.
The problem is children follow their parents. Remember that great lesson: faith is caught not taught. Children grow up to make choices about what they will do with their lives. Have you ever said those life-changing words: “I sound like my parents.” Then you know their influence runs deep. So, the people God spoke to today may not have been the ones who walked out of Egypt. But they’re digging their own cracked cisterns today.
From time to time, I see a type of post online that bugs me. It ridicules today’s generation for not knowing how to do certain things. They can’t write in cursive. They don’t know how to drive a stick shift. And they aren’t good at carrying on conversations.
There are two problems with that. The first is, those are arbitrary things to pick out. As if to say they’re not good at anything. The second is we didn’t teach them how to do those things. We glued devices to their faces and became annoyed with the consequences.
Plus, children heard us complain about getting out of worship past noon. They realized we only prayed on Sundays or quickly before bed. They noticed when we didn’t have to go to church when we were on vacation. It wasn’t their responsibility to prioritize worship over Little League.
So, God’s words apply even to the children of today. God’s not looking to smite them. But God is pleading with them just the same. There’s a lot of truth to the famous t-shirt: Y’all need Jesus!
Now, if we think God takes faith seriously enough to involve children in it, shouldn’t we do the same? The faith of our children should be a top priority. And I don’t mean just sending them off to children’s church. How can you walk with younger people who need Jesus?
Stay blessed…john
