Judges 2:6-3:6 – Yet They Did Not Listen

I was having a conversation with someone the other day about raising children in the church…Christian Church or any other church.  This person was conflicted because they wanted to share with their children the experiences, both good and bad, they had gone through with their faith…with their God, but wanted to allow their children the opportunity to choose a faith for themselves.  At first I encouraged this person for realizing faith is something that does not pass down automatically from generation to generation.  We see evidence of this all the time.  Young people who have been in the church since they were born are leaving and not coming back.  They know all the stories and can recite Scripture and hymns, but they never made the faith their faith.

We need to encourage our young people to figure things out for themselves.  We can say we have a preference for them…that they would accept Jesus as their Savior…but at the end of the day, our faith does not save them.  They need their own faith.

Now, we can encourage their decision for Christ by bringing them up in the church, but more important is what happens at home.  Do young people see their parents and other adult Christians living out their faith in their everyday lives or just acting like Christians on Sunday and looking like the world the rest of the week?  Do we share the stories of how God has brought us through our struggles?  Do we share how He has blessed us through the years?

In our passage today, the Israelites forgot.  They did not pass on the heritage of God and what He had done for their nation.  They did not encourage the young people to own their faith.  Because of this, they turned from God and served the gods of the countries around them.  There was no longer any difference between the Israelites and the surrounding nations.  The Israelites became like the world instead of like God’s chosen people…sound familiar?

If we aren’t intentional about sharing our faith, if we aren’t intentional about encouraging the faith of our young people, the differences between Christians and the world will completely disappear.  The next generation or the one following will completely forget the ways of God and how Jesus died for our sins.  Our young people have so many influences surrounding them.  We as the body of Christ need to be more intentional in prayer and more intentional in reaching the next generation for Jesus.  How?  I’m open to suggestions!

I’m praying for you!

Pastor Amy