Generations...

Jeremiah 5:7-9
“Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me and sworn by gods that are not gods.
I supplied all their needs, yet they committed adultery
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.
They are well-fed, lusty stallions, each neighing for another man’s wife.
Should I not punish them for this?” declares the LORD.
“Should I not avenge myself on such a nation as this?

I once heard it said the one generation embraces truth, the next generation assumes truth and the following generation questions truth. In other words, heresy and the collapse of a church, religious movement or family line is only two generations away.
Like the people of Judah in the days of Jeremiah, many people grow familiar with the truths of Scripture and take for granted the blessings of God. Consequently, obedience becomes a philosophical concept, more abstract that concrete and practical. The following generation sees no connection between faith and reality and so rejects the precepts that connect the two. And so, God judges the generation of assumption for the rebellion of the generation that follows.
While I'd like to say that I am in the generation of those who embrace and love the Truth of God to the point of radical obedience... I'm more likely among the generation of assumption. I've taken for granted the blessings of God. Consequently, this passage concerns me.

So how do we as a church, as a movement, as a family get back to the place of pursuing, embracing and cherishing the Truth of God? It is the same for us today as it was for Israel then.
Deuteronomy 6
These are the commands, decrees and laws the LORD your God directed me to teach you to observe in the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess, so that you, your children and their children after them may fear the LORD your God as long as you live by keeping all his decrees and commands that I give you, and so that you may enjoy long life.
Hear, O Israel, and be careful to obey so that it may go well with you and that you may increase greatly in a land flowing with milk and honey, just as the LORD, the God of your fathers, promised you.
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates. When the LORD your God brings you into the land he swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, to give you—a land with large, flourishing cities you did not build, houses filled with all kinds of good things you did not provide, wells you did not dig, and vineyards and olive groves you did not plant—then when you eat and are satisfied, be careful that you do not forget the LORD, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. Fear the LORD your God, serve him only and take your oaths in his name. Do not follow other gods, the gods of the peoples around you; for the LORD your God, who is among you, is a jealous God and his anger will burn against you, and he will destroy you from the face of the land. Do not test the LORD your God as you did at Massah. Be sure to keep the commands of the LORD your God and the stipulations and decrees he has given you. Do what is right and good in the LORD’s sight, so that it may go well with you and you may go in and take over the good land that the LORD promised on oath to your forefathers, thrusting out all your enemies before you, as the LORD said. In the future, when your son asks you, “What is the meaning of the stipulations, decrees and laws the LORD our God has commanded you?” tell him: “We were slaves of Pharaoh in Egypt, but the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand. Before our eyes the LORD sent miraculous signs and wonders—great and terrible—upon Egypt and Pharaoh and his whole household. But he brought us out from there to bring us in and give us the land that he promised on oath to our forefathers. The LORD commanded us to obey all these decrees and to fear the LORD our God, so that we might always prosper and be kept alive, as is the case today. And if we are careful to obey all this law before the LORD our God, as he has commanded us, that will be our righteousness.” There are a million lessons in this passage but the main message is simple; love God, obey God and diligently teach your kids to follow your example.

One final thought... Exodus 20:5-6
"for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commandments."

Father, make me a better father to my children. Teach me to teach them well. Strengthen me for full obedience that they may follow my path with confidence. Extend to me your loving-kindness for thousands of generations. Amen.