Pssst…Pass It On!
By Carolyn Hulliberger
“We're not
keeping this to ourselves,
we're passing
it along to the next generation—
God's fame
and fortune,
the marvelous
things he has done.”
Psalm 78:3-4 (The Message)
Remember the game “Telephone”?
Everyone would sit in a circle and one person would start by whispering a
sentence one time into the next person’s ear, and the phrase would get
whispered and passed around until the last person said out loud what they
heard. Inevitably, the sentence would get changed from something like, “I
had soup for dinner last night,” to “Stuart stole the skunk’s spotlight”?
With no one to correct the misunderstanding, the sentence gets murkier with
each retelling.
Passing down our beliefs to the next
generation can be like “Telephone.” The listener is trying desperately to hear
what is being said…they must get it right if there’s any hope of moving the
message on correctly. But if the speaker is unclear, too quiet, or
misheard the message herself…or the listener is distracted from the
message….well, the message gets passed on all wrong.
In Titus chapter 2, Paul speaks
about various groups within the church. He instructs, “You must teach
what is in accord with sound doctrine…In everything set them an example by
doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness and
soundness of speech that cannot be condemned….” (Titus 2:1, 7-8a, NIV).
Regardless of your life situation…a
teenager, a single lady, a grown woman, a mother with young kids, an empty
nester, an aunt, a grandmother…our lives are speaking into generations
beyond. We need to take advantage of our opportunities! One thing
that I love about Student Ministry is that our “Women in Training” are at an
age where they’re supposed to ask questions, not have all the answers. So
they ask away! Our younger generations need women of faith to be
available to answer and instruct. Imagine that the two-year-old in the
nursery today will be the young person who impacts your future child or
grandchild for Christ. Or that the teenager struggling with faith today is
guided well by her leaders and called into full-time ministry down the road. Or
that the young mom at her wit’s end receives help and encouragement to keep
bringing her children to church instead of sleeping in on a Sunday morning …and
those kids are the two-year-olds in the nursery….and so on…
Pssst…Pass It On!
GOING DEEPER:
1. To whom are you passing
your faith on today?
2. If you couldn’t think of
anyone, pray for God to reveal where He might have you pass on your faith.
FURTHER READING:
Along with caring for her husband
and two children, Carolyn works as an insurance representative, serves in
Oakwood Church’s Student Ministries with an awesome group of junior high girls,
and is the treasurer for Women’s Ministries.
