November 28, 2008

 

To a People Yet Unborn

             I had all my children home for Thanksgiving. It was great. We had a wonderful time. During our reminiscing, we remembered all the good times we have had in the past, when the children were smaller and growing up, going to Oma and Opa’s (Grandma and Grandpa”s) home for the holidays. We remembered with fondness the travels to their house, the food and fun and playing games, the Thanksgiving and Christmas Stories, and bedding down for the night in their various houses throughout the years. Now the children are not little anymore, Oma and Opa are not as nearby, and the task falls to us to create new fun, include more people, and host meals and holidays at our home.

            I look forward to the challenge, and a challenge it is. Our Pastor recently related some of his experience as a teacher in the public schools. He asked for writing assignments about upcoming Thanksgiving. Most wrote about the three f ‘s : food, family, and fun, but only a couple mentioned giving God thanks for all the blessings to them in their lives. That is, after all, the real reason behind the Thanksgiving holiday. The oversight is somewhat understandable, seeing that few people mention the truth about Thanksgiving, and even Christmas anymore.

             The story of Thanksgiving is that the Pilgrims came to a new land at a harsh time of year, and many died. Each was given a parcel of land to cultivate, and a common store was set up for the produce of the land. Everything grown was put into the store, and all were allowed to take what they needed from the communal store. Human nature being what it is, this little exercise in socialism did not work (Read Gov. Bradford’s letters). They revised the plan, with each getting a parcel of land to do with what they pleased, and keep the produce of their labors.  They could then bring things to the store and market the goods to others there. Under this system, the group flourished and had abundance. They also received technical assistance about the new land from Christian Squanto. In their abundance, the Pilgrims held a feast and invited the Native people to it to give thanks to God for their lives and bounty.

             It is a similar situation with Christmas. Christmas is the commemoration of the birth of Jesus Christ, in fulfillment of hundreds of  prophecies, whom God sent into the world to be the Savior of mankind. How many people see that as the real meaning of Christmas, however? We can no longer assume that people in this culture, especially young people know the true meaning behind any of our holidays. I was shocked when I viewed a film concerning evangelism several years ago. The “ man on the street,” with his cameraman, went to a popular hiking trail in Phoenix, Arizona. His question was simply-  Who is Jesus? The shocking part for me was that, while several people did know, many did not. While some were able to say that Jesus was a prophet that lived long ago, many did not even know who Jesus was; had never heard of Him. This brings us back to the point that we can not presume that  young people in our culture know about the meaning of holidays like Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Resurrection Day. How can they, we haven’t been telling them. We have allowed the Truth to be silenced.

             Psalm 22:28-31 states:

                                                 “ The kingdom is the Lord’s,

                                                And He rules over the nations.

                                                All the prosperous of the earth will

                                                Eat and worship,

                                                All those who go down to the dust

                                                Will bow before Him,

                                                Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.

                                                Posterity will serve Him;

                                                It will be told of the Lord to

                                                The coming generation.

                                                They will come and will declare His

                                                Righteousness to a people who

                                                Will be born

                                                That He has performed it.

             We need to tell of the Lord, not only to people today, but preserve the words and ways of the Lord and tell of them to a generation yet to be born. We are responsible for telling the future generations, the people who are yet to be born, about our Lord and His wonderous works. It is up to us. Those who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. Those who have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb are responsible to make these things known to the upcoming children. That is our task, our divine calling. We are to be about His business.

             Just as our  Oma and Opa, and all the other Oma and Opas  out there helped their children teach their children about the true meaning of historical events like Thanksgiving and the birth of the Christ, so now we must join with them and become a new generation of teachers who will declare the righteousness of God and the awesome deeds of the Lord to the generations, and the people yet to be born. We must be willing to declare that, not only in the past, but also in the present and future, the people who had formerly walked in darkness, have and will see a marvelous Light. (Isaiah 9:2) That Light is Jesus Christ, King of kings, and Lord of lords. The promise is to all of us and our children. Let’s start the declaration today.