3 Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian, and he led the flock to the far side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 There the angel of the Lord appeared to him in flames of fire from within a bush. Moses saw that though the bush was on fire it did not burn up. 3 So Moses thought, “I will go over and see this strange sight—why the bush does not burn up.”
4 When the Lord saw that he had gone over to look, God called to him from within the bush, “Moses! Moses!”
And Moses said, “Here I am.”
5 “Do not come any closer,” God said. “Take off your sandals, for the place where you are standing is holy ground.” 6 Then he said, “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” At this, Moses hid his face, because he was afraid to look at God.
Exodus 3:1-6
These days my dad has more stories for me. Stories of important days and common days, names, dates, and conversations. Great grandparents and their Bibles, and how many times those Bibles were read. Stories of sermons practiced in parent’s rooms, aunts and uncles who loved Jesus, and many other memories. Men and women who prayed for each of us and some who still do. It makes me think of how God introduced Himself to Moses from the burning bush.
“I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Some days when I pray, I think, “The God of George, the God of Alton, and the God of Larry.” I even have Goerge’s Bible sitting on my bookshelf. On other days I think, “The God of Francis Vi, and the God of Rebecca.” I have many things from these women as well. Verses written on notecards in their perfect slanting cursive and memories of them holding my hand during church services and carefully tracing the lines on my fingers and palms.
God does something through our bloodlines, our heritage, and our legal documents. He honors what fathers and mothers, grandparents, step-parents, aunts, uncles, adoptive parents, and in-laws pray and declare over us. He allows their mistakes to become our struggles and their victories to become our treasures. It will be the same for our children.
I love the genealogy at the beginning of Matthew. It spells out the line of fathers and sometimes mothers from Abraham to David to Joseph. There are names we love and names we don’t recognize. Not everyone’s story on that list started or ended well, but they are all included because they all matter.
God has always dealt with individuals and families. We see with both Noah and Abraham that He sought out the individual and that because of their relationship, He showed mercy to their children and extended family. Noah’s wife, sons, and daughters-in-law were saved from the flood, and Lot and his daughters were spared much and given much because of their proximity to Abraham. God sought out these men’s children and grandchildren because their forefathers were righteous.
5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.
Exodus 20:5-6
Of course, we know the gift of salvation is offered to every man, woman, and child. I know many people who love God who did not come from Christian homes. There are men and women in our churches who are the first of their lines to follow Jesus or at least the first in a very long time. It’s important for us to pray not just for our children and grandchildren but for the generations to come.
For the past 4 years, I have regularly prayed with other women. We pray for just a few things. We praise God, then we pray for each other, our husbands, and our children. There are so many other things to pray for, but I felt God convicting me to start there. Over the years I have watched things happen in our lives, marriages, and children that blow me away. God is so faithful to us and those who come before and after us.
We also need to teach our children and stay humble. I apologize often because I mess up often. We chuckle and cringe about the kind of house we ran a decade ago before we came back to Christ and I thank God that He redeemed my life when my kids were still in the home and I could disciple and bless them while they are still young. Who knows, maybe that timing was a gift I got based on the faithfulness of my parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents.
We all see our bad habits and qualities pop up in our children. We become our parents and groan when we say and do the things we said we never would. We pass things down like blessings and curses and our only hope is the blood of Jesus. He changes things and erases sin and the punishment we have earned. He takes something hopeless passed from generation to generation and gives us something better. He sustains the good things we pass down too.
There is one woman who affected my dad more than most, and her name was Adah Love. He had many sweet conversations about Jesus with this treasured grandmother and she has left a mark on him. He says there is a reason why many of her grandchildren are serving Jesus in ministry. They serve as pastors, missionaries, and administrators in the church. She knew her Savior well and sought Him on behalf of herself and her family and we are all reaping what she sowed for us.
We are all sowing something into our lives and the generations to come. We get to decide what kind of seed it is. Let’s thank God for those who have blessed us in our family line and share memories and stories with our children so that they can see the picture of a faithful God. He deserves the glory of many generations of Christ’s followers who have come before us and those who will come after us.
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