From Generation to Generation

“One generation shall laud your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” – Psalm 145:4

I treasure my faith in God, but faith hasn’t always been easy for me and I don’t take it for granted. It never stops being something of a mystery to me.

But one thing I do know about faith is that you don’t come to it alone. And by faith I don’t mean just belief in a set of doctrines, but deep trust that God is real and good and loving.

When I say that faith is something you don’t come to alone I am referring to the many people who help us along the way of our faith journeys.

As our verse for today reminds us, faith is a multi-generational project. Each generation tells the next generation the great story of God’s vast love. In that regard, our faith is not only something we have, but also something we get from others.

I think back to the many people who helped me to have faith. Often it was not what they told me so much as who they were, a certain authenticity about them and the way they acted. I don’t know if I ever consciously thought, “I want to be like that person” but that is the way it worked.

So authentic faith is contagious, something you “catch” from others. From generation to generation faithful witnesses live it out and pass it on.

Prayer

Let us exalt you, O God that the next generation may learn of your wondrous works and your mighty acts and catch the gift of faith.

ddRickFloyd2013.jpgAbout the Author
Richard L. Floyd is Pastor Emeritus of First Church of Christ (UCC) in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. A writer and author, his most recent publications are Romans, Parts 1 and 2 (with Michael S. Bennett), new titles in the “Listen Up!” Bible Study Series. He blogs at richardlfloyd.com.