Our Responsibility To The Future - Friday Praise & Pray (for others) May 10, 2024

Earlier this week, we discussed that there are promises tied to you that are not for you. We understood that such promises are waiting to be fulfilled in the lives of our descendants as was the case for Abraham and others in the Bible.

Today, we look at this issue once more. However, we consider an additional perspective. Can we imagine being stepping stools for future individuals who are not related to us genetically? See it is easy to accept that we need to lay a foundation for our biological descendants. After all, the Bible states that a good person leaves an inheritance for his children's children in Proverbs 13:22. Yet, as Christians, we also need to keep in mind that we are related to our brothers and sisters in Christ. These are individuals with whom we likely will never share DNA, but we will always have the blood of Jesus Christ in common with them. We have a duty to also leave them something they can build upon.

Many of us are incapable of looking beyond ourselves and our loved ones to consider our responsibility to future generations of Christians. We also struggle with accepting that there is a role we are to play in the promises that are to come for them. We don't realize that God seeks to use us as part of a chain to transmit His wisdom to the world today and in the future. These are the types who are referred to in Hebrews 11:39-40 - These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised, since God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. Think about the likes of Abraham, who had to wait for us - a people of the future - to receive the promises that they received on our behalf. People like Him left a legacy for us to learn from and build upon.

We don't even have to go all the way back to Biblical times. Think about the great men and women of God of years past. Those who triggered God to move with their piety and their prayers. Some ministers wrote books and recorded teachings sharing what God taught them in the Bible and through miraculous encounters. They left examples of how to live and move as people of faith who impacted the world around them by what happened in their quiet time with the Lord. They understood their responsibility to leave something behind for those who were to come. Those who would experience the promises that had eluded them.

Take an honest look at the Body of Christ today and ask this question - will we collectively leave things better or worse for future believers? Now let us turn our attention to ourselves and ask, are we making choices that will help those who come after us to stand firm in the knowledge of God and His word? Are we teaching our children about God and speaking of Him with reverence? Are we breaking faith and displaying examples of disbelief instead of unflinching trust? Are we speaking falsely about Him to others who need to be encouraged? Are we sharing testimony to His glory? Are we carrying ourselves in a way that future generations of Christians can emulate? Or will they despise us for not leaving them a nest egg that they could build upon as they waited for the promises of God for them?

We have previously learned that God's people have a responsibility not just to their fellow believers, but even to non-believers. Now, we understand that the responsibility extends to future generations in our family and in the family of Christ. It all might seem daunting but we serve a God who is more than able to help us every step of the way. He has accepted responsibility for us and is committed to ensuring we are successful on these issues and many others per Philippians 2:13 which states For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him (NLT).

We, nevertheless, have to put in some work. We have to cooperate with Him, His word, His Son, and His Spirit. We have to let Him lead us so that we will be the ancestors in Christ that future believers will praise God for. They may never know our name or our face, but our contribution to them can and will make a difference if we become intentional about laying the groundwork with love and faith for future Christians.

We are the beneficiaries of a great faith that God crafted with His hands over the millennia. He used Individuals and groups to build up a collective understanding of who He is and what He is ready to do. We cannot relinquish our role in getting future generations to step into that faith and experience the promises that await them. That role may seem miniscule, but that doesn't change its significance.

The Lord God will help us all.