And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.” Joshua 4:21-22
Like anyone who loves their children, I have a life in my mind that I desire for my kids. I want them to find loving spouses, have fulfilling careers, and to know the joy of parenting. There are also things that I don’t want for them – I don’t want them to make the same terrible life mistakes that I’ve made. Most of all though, I want them to know God. I want them to recognize their need for a relationship with him, investing in that relationship every day. Why? I want this for them because God saved me from myself, giving me a joy and peace that I would never have known otherwise. My relationship with God is the most important thing about me and so, I naturally want that for my children. Though I desire to pass my faith on to my children, I know it’s not genetic or passed on automatically. I know they must decide for themselves. Still, I bear some responsibility for influencing that decision.
We must be purposeful in passing our faith to our children – That’s the lesson of today’s passage. In the story, Joshua led God’s people across the Jordan River into the promised land. Once across, God commanded them to take 12 river stones, one for each of Israel’s tribes, and erect a memorial. The purpose of this memorial was to remind their children of what God had done in their lives. Everything the next generation inherited was made possible by what God had done for this generation. This generation then, had a responsibility to be purposeful about telling their children about God, pointing them to faith. This is important to me and so, I desire that it be important to you.
When my kids were young, they simply accepted everything I said as truth. As they grow however, they’ll naturally question their faith and at some point, they must make their own decision. As I said though, I bear some responsibility to influence that decision, pointing them to God. If I want them to buy into my faith, then I must give them some reason to do so. To this end, it’s my responsibility to remind them regularly of what God has done for me and for them. If God hadn’t saved me from myself, all of our lives would look very different today. As their father, it’s my job to regularly remind my children of what God has done for us, pointing them to faith.