Tag: Deuteronomy 6

Generational faith

I have a friend who runs a lovely Facebook group. It is a space for women to discuss everything related to money and finance. It is a supportive group and she does an amazing job of moderating it. When I read comments I come across the phrase – generational wealth.

People want to build something for their children. They invest wisely and budget so they can help their kids. Whether it is through education investments, properties, or a plan to leave wealth to their children. I have no fault with this. Money drives our society and thinking of your own family is a caring and wonderful gesture.

I would just like to expand it a bit. I’d like to see families add the concept of generational faith. We wouldn’t just ask how can I best provide financially for my family, but also how best can I build faith for my family.

In the same way that there isn’t just one path to building financial success, there isn’t one way to building strong faith either.

The issue isn’t a ‘how to,’ but one of focus. If you are interested in building wealth it needs to be front and centre as you make decisions in your life. The same thing goes for faith. It needs to be a central pillar of our daily plans. It needs to be the lens through which we see the world.

So today I exhort you to contemplate generational faith.

Deuteronomy 6: 4 – 9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. 
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 
Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

Remember Him

I​ pondered the words. “Do this in remembrance of me.” This is likely the most common reference to the Bible used during communion. We have carved out a special time to reflect and honour this moment. The bread and the wine are significant and symbolic of Christ’s blood and body. We think about His sacrifice.

Y​esterday as we did this a thought came to me. Jesus didn’t use fancy or special items. He used the items before him – the Passover feast. Yes there is greater significance in this as the meal ties him to God’s great retribution against the Pharaoh. But also these were everyday items. The bread, although unleavened, was the staple diet. The wine was ubiquitous.

H​ad Jesus’ last supper happened just last week in Texas, the items might have been cornbread and cola. Or if it happened in India it would have been green tea and naan bread. This is fanciful perhaps. But the point is these were the staples of life.

We are to remember Jesus in the everyday, in the mundane repeat parts of our lives. We are to focus on him always not just in special moments.

T​he Israelites were told to teach their children about God in every moment. To have His commandments infiltrate every part of their lives. As we go about our lives remember Christ – the bread that sustains and the drink that quenches. The living water that will make us thirst no more.

D​euteronomy 6: 4 – 9 Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.