Well, I’m now a grandparent and there is such a thing called Grandparent’s Day. So just like Christmas Day and my Birthday, shouldn’t I expect gifts? Well, I’m kidding – sort of.
But I do have a wish list; a wish list that I hope my children see and my grandchildren – and I hope it will be good for you as well.
First, I want my grandchildren to know the Lord. Moses told Israel, “Imprint these words of mine on your hearts and minds, bind them as a sign on your hands… Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” (Deuteronomy 11:19). As a parent, I am responsible to teach my own children all about God – and then they can teach their children the same. That is the best gift they can have. As a grandparent, I need to stand alongside of my children and teach Who God is, what God has done and what God requires. If my children are not teaching them, I will find ways to tell them about God.
Second, I want my grandchildren to know they are loved and wanted. If they learn who God is and what He has done for all of humanity (John 3:16), they will know the soul affirming and righteous demanding love God has shown them, and me, in the Cross. But I want them to know love from their parents – and from me. Paul said to older woman “encourage the young women to love their husbands and to love their children” (Titus 2:5) because the strength built within a home around that God glorifying love will be the foundation rock bed for communities specifically and society in general – but especially for the church. So there are few more important things than to teach your child in a godly way that they are loved.
Psalm 78 shows God’s work for grandparents by warning through history of failed examples of family discipleship. The Psalmist said, “He established a testimony in Jacob and set up a law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach to their children so that a future generation—children yet to be born—might know. They were to rise and tell their children so that they might put their confidence in God and not forget God’s works but keep his commands. Then they would not be like their ancestors,
a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not loyal and whose spirit was not faithful to God” (78:5-8). So what in this Psalm will help me as a grandparent make sure my Wish List Is Met? I can leave it to my kids – but my work as a Christian, let alone a human, is not over.
I need to see that there is a multi-generation reality to what I do as parent – and as a grandparent (fathers, children, children yet unborn, and their children, 78:5-6). The legacy I create is not merely by the number of children I have or the gifts I receive – but by the gifts I give them. And I want the gifts I give to them to last a long time, in fact, for generations to come.
I need to tell of God’s works (78:4). To “tell” means to report, to count, to make known, to make a written record. Our mouths must speak it; Our pens must write it; And they should see it gloriously displayed in our lives. But speaking the story focuses their minds on God Himself so they can learn from you to worship Him.
I need to teach God’s law (78:5). Every grandparent teaches. Whether it is through the stories passed down or by behaviors that isolate an intended response, it is what we do even if we “did not sign up for this.” God has commanded it. The Hebrew word “teach” means to instruct or guide, a goal-oriented word which suggests there is a specific outcome you are working toward; teaching is a method to that end. A good guide knows the end destination, shows others the path, and instructs along the way.
While American society still communicates a powerful message that grandparents are extras, unessential and somehow throw-aways to what the world really needs, God saw them as critical figures in the faith formation of the young.
For, the last gift I want is time. Not only do I hope for the time so that I can blabber on and over them that they are the cutest people in the world (I’m not sure I am uncapable of this), but also, I hope for the time that I will have to spend with them to them all of the above – so I can have the time and joy to watch them teach the next generation the same thing – whether it is earth side or heaven side – but then I will know it has been time well spent.
by Don Hooton