Still Learning Lessons from Grandma

I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.
2 Timothy 1:5

My brother and I recently traveled to help our father and stepmother prepare for a move.  One of the boxes that I was to go through was full of things that belonged to my grandmother, who died nearly twenty-five years ago.  Going through the box was a delight.  I found her four high school year books from the years 1919-1922.  There were photos and a variety of keepsakes that she had saved through the years that had been tucked away in the box.  Among the mementos that she had kept were a number of church bulletins over the years from choir concerts to Christmas programs and even the bulletin from the day that I was baptized more than fifty years ago.  There in that box I was reminded of how important the Christian faith was to my grandmother and how that faith has been passed on for generations.

The greatest gifts that parents and grandparents can give to their children is faith, by bringing children to be baptized and providing for their further instruction in the faith.  Long after all of the mementos are hidden away in boxes, the gift of faith lives on as the Spirit continues to enlighten and sanctify the saints of God.  While we want churches to help support the teaching of the faith to children, we also pray that parents and grandparents would follow the examples of Lois and Eunice in passing on the faith to the next generations.

Trophies, ribbons, and medals are tied to memories for families, but they are not eternal.  It is my hope that the teaching of the faith to children can be a blessed partnership of the church and home as together we give to children the precious gift of eternal life as we bring them to the baptismal font and heed our Lord’s call to diligently teach them the blessed Word of God.  Bibles, hymnals, and catechisms are not for gathering dust in boxes but for kitchen tables and nightstands as we pass on the faith to our children, giving them something that lasts forever.  A dusty box of old keepsakes reminded me of what was really important and was one more lesson that I learned from grandmother.

Prayer – O heavenly Father, help parents to recognize the important responsibility that You have given to them to bring children up in the fear and admonition of the Lord.  May our congregations assist and support parents in teaching the faith to their children.  May grandparents also be Your instruments in passing on this precious gift of faith.  By Your Word and Spirit, strengthen us all for this task of teaching children the Good News of Your great love for them; through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Amen. 

Fraternally in Christ,
President Lee Hagan