Daily Devotional for Sunday, October 5

The Crown of Old Men

“Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers,” Proverbs 17:6.

Is there anything more happy and gratifying than grandbabies? I cannot think of anything. I have six, and five of them are six and under. Talk about a house full of joy when we are all together! Grandchildren are very special, and our relationship with them is like no other. We do not have the assigned duty of raising or disciplining them, for the most part. Except in unusual circumstances, grandparenting is just light and fun.

In Israel, hereditary lineage was even more critical than it is today. One’s lineage and to whom one belonged were extremely important. Who you came from defined who you were and who you could be. Additionally, the full blessings of the covenants God had made with the people were to be enjoyed in the future by one’s descendants.

We could get stuck in being happy about the joy our grandchildren bring, and we might not see that this proverb, like many, has two parts. Part one is our joy in our grandchildren; part two is our responsibility toward them. What we do as the matriarchs and patriarchs of our families has far-reaching consequences and repercussions. How many have heard about things such as generational poverty, abuse or drug abuse? The legacy we establish matters.

Do you know that the most important legacy we can leave our grandchildren is our faith? That was true with our children, but it is just as true with our grandchildren. While there is no guarantee, children tend to model what they see. Most of us will end up in the same type of environment that we were raised in.  Friends and our grandchildren will see what we do, how we act and what God means to us. Or, they may see what God does not mean to us! But, they will see something. What will they see?

JUST A THOUGHT

Joy and responsibility often go hand in hand.

Wally Fry