We sat in the old farmhouse dining room, around the table where my mom had hosted generations of family. And we divvied up the old pictures, bits and pieces of written history, and trinkets of her life well lived.
Someday, my children will do the same. The china, the pictures, and the stuff which seems important to me now, will look like…well, mostly like junk. And they will wonder, why did she save this? What in the world do we do with all this stuff?
I can almost hear the conversation, “I don’t want it, you take it!”
“I don’t even know who this is,” they will comment as they finger black and white photos.
So, what happens to the piles of clothing, the half set of real silverware, or the outdated rocking chair nobody wants?
Generations. Most of us are passionate about passing down the Biblical values of our generation with its benefits and memories to the next. Scripture provides a mandate to do so, and God places great importance on it.
But, what if someone decides they don’t want that old delicate china or the patchwork quilt which has been in the family years and years? It’s dowdy, out of date, and incongruent with their lifestyle. It’s so old-fashioned.
And, what if we aren’t talking just about the stuff, what if we are talking about faith, morality, and values? Suppose that also gets tossed away onto a pile of junk?
Recently, I’ve experienced a virtual wave of younger friends using social media to bombast beliefs they once embraced. Even sometimes, in an older generation, I find an apathy, spiritual coldness, and some tossing it all away.
Kinda like throwing the fine china against the wall.
A process of shedding church “hurt and judgement” which is dumped bitterly into the laps of family, friends, and community, weakens foundations and creates new offenses. Offenses do not necessarily place the one wronged in the right.
If belittlement, vitriol, and abandonment are meant to punish the Church, we need to humbly remember, the Church isn’t a building, denomination, or a religion. It’s a people bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s a body who belongs to Him because He is its Savior. The Church isn’t a building, denomination, or religion. It’s a people bought with the blood of Jesus Christ. Share on X
We may scratch our heads in wonder at what happened to someone’s evaporated belief system, but Jesus predicted, exposed, and pointed out hypocrisy from which it’s fed. He warned about savage wolves within His flock, and specifically that many will turn from faith in the end times. (Acts 20:29).
As I’ve been pondering on the posts of people who have moved on to reject what they once held dear, I remember one of the parables Jesus taught.
While the main point of the parable of the sower and the seed illustrated different responses to the gospel of salvation, its principles stop my knee-jerk reaction.
Because I too must check the soil of my soul.
The seed of God’s Word planted in our hearts finds a type of soil and the kind of nurturing which makes for a long-haul faith or a quick burn.
In the first example, the sower scattered the gospel on hard ground. Birds came and ate the seeds. How difficult for God’s Word to penetrate into the very recesses of our beings when our hearts are hard toward Him. The seed of God’s Word planted in our hearts finds a type of soil and the kind of nurturing which makes for a long-haul faith or a quick burn. Share on X
The second soil was rocky, making it too shallow for deep roots. That person joyfully received the Word, but when trials came he quickly stumbled. Lazy apathy, not watering deeply, or just going through the motions, leaves us with a superficial faith.
The third seeds fell on thorny soil. Cares of the world, trials, and the pursuit of riches, overtook and choked out God’s truths. Demands and needs of life draw away or push us toward Christ.
But, the fourth fell on good soil. It not only took root and thrived, it reproduced. (Matthew 13:3-9)
God’s Word, nurtured with the soft fertile soil of a humble heart, watered with consistency, given proper respect and authority, flourishes. It reproduces.
Sometimes I feel the deep loss, worry, and shame of those anti-evangelists of Jesus, who declare life better without Him. But such declarations should always lift my eyes to Christ. They should remind me of the soil of my own soul.
“Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them,” Paul instructed in 1 Timothy 4:16 (NIV).
There are people we can blame, institutes we can fault, and family we can criticize for the path we or someone we love takes. Which is why we need to be reminded daily of the gospel, for Jesus died that we might live.
Much more precious than fine china, we need the Word of God to teach us, train our hearts, and move our spirits toward Him. We need to tend the soil of our souls so it will reproduce the unshakable truth of the gospel throughout the whole world.
Barb ara Latta
Sylvia, thanks for this timely post. These are issues that need to be addressed. We hope and pray God’s values will remain with those we love and not be tossed out with the china.
Sylvia Schroeder
Amen to that Barbara!! Thanks so much for reading and responding. May we be faithful in leaving behind what is truly valuable.
Lyn McDiarmid
Thanks Sylvia. I was sitting in my home office this morning looking at about 500 Christian books in front of me and thinking that if we were hit by a bus today, our kids would find it a big pain to try and find church libraries to take them rather than a landfill. What you pointed out is that it is much better for us to keep the Gospel and Word of God foremost in our hearts so that the true inheritance is Christ, integrity and Christian values. I am OK with them tossing the china, quilts and pictures, but I never want to think that one of my kids says that ‘now Mom and Dad are gone, we don’t have to act that way anymore’. So far so good, but thanks for the reminder.
God bless
Lyn
Sylvia Schroeder
Thank you Lyn! I am with you in wanting a true inheritance in Christ to continue long and long and long after I’m gone. May the tracks we leave behind point them to Jesus!
Katherine Pasour
Recently, I’ve tried to look through some of my “old” things to relieve my children of some of that burden. Which of these material items are treasures? Which are junk? Your message reminds me that our treasure lies with Jesus. I pray that the best “treasure” I leave with my children and grandchildren is that they will know and believe in their Savior and that all love is a gift from God. I pray they see the Light of Jesus in me and their faith in Jesus will never falter. Thank you, Sylvia.
Sylvia Schroeder
Yes. Absolutely yes. Thank you Katherine. This is the prayer of my heart as well.
Sharon
Thank you, Sylvia! When my husband died a little over a year ago, I had to sort through all of my things as I moved to a new house with my oldest daughter and her family. That process made me think hard about what it is I want to pass on to my children. The things may go, but I want the truth of my faith to abide. I’m trying to invest in each of my children and grandchildren with my written words to them so that they can look back and remember all God has done. Pictures are wonderful, but written words Are better!
Sylvia Schroeder
Sharon I appreciate you sharing that. I am so very sorry for your loss. I think your idea of leaving them written words will be a treasure for them. I am so glad you are investing in them for the Kingdom. Thank you!
Tony Vanderlaan
I agree with Sharon as well. I am in the process of writing my life story to leave as a legacy for my children and grandchildren. The stuff we leave behind is just that, stuff. A book of how God has worked in and through me will endure from generation to generation.
Sylvia Schroeder
I’m so glad you are doing this Tony. I know that God has used your story in the past, but His ongoing testimony into the future is a wonderful praise and promise! Thanks for being diligent in chronicling God’s working in your life for the generations. It’s a great way to honor Him.