 |
| A little commendation from the next generation. :) Can you see Jesus in this little heart? |
Session 5 – From
Generation to Generation
Psalm 145 is beautiful and declarative. And I love any thing declarative, it’s true. Read
with me below, verses 1-9:
I will extol you, my God and King,
and bless your name forever and ever.
Every day I will bless you
and praise your name forever and ever.
Great is the Lord, and
greatly to be praised,
and his greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall commend your works to another,
and shall declare your mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of your majesty,
and on your wondrous works, I will meditate.
They shall speak of the might of your awesome deeds,
and I will declare your greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of your abundant goodness
and shall sing aloud of your righteousness.
The Lord is gracious
and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good
to all,
and his mercy is over all that he has made.
Find the word "commend" and highlight that verse in your Bible if
you have it open, and are so willing.
This is an amazing work of the church on
earth - the work of every congregation and every family, and every individual.
Passing down the faith from generation to generation.
Don’t miss the significance of the verse, though. We talk all the
time about passing on the faith, or handing down the faith, but this passage
tells us HOW. We commend the faith from our generation to the next. Wait, no we
commend the faith to another
generation.
It doesn’t matter
the generation. We aren’t married to sharing with those younger than us, or
even those in the same life stage as us. We can share with those younger, and
older, and all the places in between. But we do it by commending the faith.
Talking highly of the faith.
Isn’t it a great
Faith, after all? Isn’t it exactly what the Psalm tells us?
How has God shown
Himself in your life? How have you seen, literally seen, His Greatness? What
mighty acts has He done in your generation, your lifetime? What splendor do you
see around you, created and sustained by Our Great God? When has He been slow
to anger in your life? Where have you seen and heard and senses His abounding
Love and Mercy?
This is how we
can proclaim His Name to every generation. Declare it.
My friend, Sarah,
just recently published a novel called Penelope’s Hope. In it, the main
character, Penelope, has a conversation with her friend, Violet. Violet
exclaims to her, out of the natural disposition of her heart something like,
“God is good, is He not?”
Penelope’s
response is not unlike that of the hurting world around us, “I can not speak for
God’s goodness, Violet, for I have seen but precious little of it.”
Can you hear the
hurt, the struggle? This is the story of so many. We are taught by the world to
look for goodness in what seems good, feels good, looks good. Sometimes God works
in those very things, but sometimes, very often times, He works in the
struggle, in the pain, in the weaving of mercy where it would not otherwise be
found.
Let’s declare it,
friends. Let’s boldly proclaim to a world in need where we can see God’s goodness,
God’s mercy, God’s abounding forgiveness and love. Let’s do it gently, for the
world may feel they have seen precious little of it.
Point out in
conversations the Hope you are anchored in. Give a hug and remind someone of
his or her value. Give a tiny piece of your story and share how God has been
and done and worked and loved in your life, in your walk.
We have seen what
is precious, not a precious little bit. Proclaim it girls. Commend away!
Discussion
questions – Which verse stands out to you the most in the reading from Psalm
145? What are some ideas or ways we can individually and corporately commend
the faith from generation to generation?
Labels: faith, generation
