Sincere faith

 I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

2 Timothy 1:5 NIV

Paul is speaking about faith being passed on from generation to generation. Paul gives a lot of the credit for Timothy's faith to his mother and grandmothers faith. We see that he is talking about a third generation faith in God and His word. Third generation, wow! How many of us can claim such a great spiritual lineage?

A lot folks are first generation Christians. So, those of us that fall in that category should look at this verse and see the importance of living out our faith for our descendants to see. Timothy's mother and grand mother had modeled their faith in God for Timothy to learn from. Because of their example Timothy had been raised in a way that helped him to be receptive to the gospel when he heard it.

Our teaching in our daily lives will have far reaching effects beyond our time. We must raise our children in the teaching of the Lord and when we have grandchildren we should teach them as well. Christianity is more than just a religion, it is a culture, a counter culture. Counter to the ways of the world and its ruler Satan.

We not only pass on our faith from generation to generation in a very physical sense, but also in a very spiritual sense as well. Every person that we share the gospel has the opportunity to become the next generation in the church.

We live in a country where people put great stock in their culture. Most people you meet are happy to share their ethnicity and culture with you on some level. We should do likewise. While most people experience other cultures through the people they meet, people that come in contact with Christians can not only experience our culture they can become a true part of it. They can become a part of it by being born into it. To be born again is to clam a new nationality, a new culture, a new identity.

Share your faith, share your culture, share Jesus.

© 2012 Leo J. Woodman