Word of Encouragement (12/22/2022)
Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you. 8 When the Most High gave to the nations their inheritance, when he divided mankind, he fixed the borders of the peoples according to the number of the sons of God. 9But the LORD's portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. (Deut. 32:7-9)
Yesterday, we reflected on the importance of remembering in our covenant relationship with God. Today, we will see another dimension of it. It is shown in these words: “Remember the days of old; consider the years of many generations; ask your father, and he will show you, your elders, and they will tell you.” Here, we learn that remembering is not only for ourselves but also for others, especially for the younger generations that follow. We should remember so that we can testify to those who come after us the things of God.
I’d like to remind ourselves again that our salvation is not the ultimate end of Christianity. As important as our salvation is, it is in the end a means to the ultimate end, which is the praise of God’s glorious grace: “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us..., raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:4, 6-7).
Our salvation is also a means to the salvation of others. The moment we become Christian, we also become a bridge, by which God extends His grace to those around us. That has always been the way in biblical religion. So, Abraham was called so that all the families of the earth might be blessed in him (Gen. 12:3). So, the Lord entrusted the Great Commission to His church to make disciples of all the nations (Matt. 28:19-20).
We need to grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ not only for ourselves but also for others, especially for the younger generation. When children are young, they do what they are told and what they see. But as they grow, they question everything, including what we believe, why we believe it, and whether it really matters to us. How shameful it would be for us if we did not have the answers to these vital questions! And how tragic it would be for our children if those, who are closest to them and have the most influence on them, could not provide competent and winsome answers to these questions! What about others, to whom we are the only exposure they have to Christianity?
The best way to find out how well we know something is by trying to tell it or explain it to someone else. (Of course, we can’t say we truly know something until we practice it, but here we are focusing on something even more basic—our intellectual understanding.) You know how it is. When we listen to a lecture or sermon, it makes perfect sense to us. But it is a different story when we try to convey what we learned to others. We discover so many holes in our understanding. That’s why it is so important to share with others what God is teaching us in our Bible studies and fellowship. I hope and pray that we will all be more intentional about growing in the knowledge and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and invest more time and energy to do so.