Let Us Remember

Psalm 78:1-31

Many elders are distressed that their children, and therefore their grandchildren, are not involved in a church. After reading Psalm 78:1-31 this morning, I am wondering if we are putting our emphasis in the wrong place. For many, church is seen as some kind of a magical protection against the badness of the world out there. If we can only get them to come to church everything will be all right. The psalmist takes a different approach. For him, it is not about getting the children into the temple, it is about telling them of God's wonders, goodness and faithfulness and demonstrating it in our own lives. The primary focus is the parents living the truth and sharing that truth with their children.

"We will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power and the wonders he has done . . . [then] they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. They would not be like their forefathers--a stubborn and rebellious generation whose hearts were not loyal to God, whose spirit were not faithful to him." The emphasis here, is not in telling the children about the temple or the law, but being loyal and faithful to and about God. Is is about recounting the activity of God in the people's lives.

God had done mighty deeds in the lives of the Israelites. He had brought them out of Egypt. He had parted the Red Sea. He had fed them manna from heaven. He had brought water out of the rock. But they noiw doubted his ability to care for them. "When the Lord heard them, he was very angry . . . for they [the people of God, the people he had rescued] did not believe in God or trust in his deliverance." On the one hand we encourage our children to attend church and lead moral lives and on the other we often fail to trust God's deliverance in our own lives. "Why doesn't God heal me?" "How will I get by when my investments have lost so much money?" "What in the world is going to happen to me now that I am getting old?" "Why is God making me suffer?" Sometimes we are like the Israelites doubting whether God is still able to do great things in our lives and our children hear every doubt. Why should they care about a religion that holds out so little hope to their elders? Simply going to church doesn't cut it.

The psalmist encourages us to remember and recount to future generations, God's goodness in our lives. This does two things. It reminds us of God's goodness to us in countless ways--the sin that he has forgiven and empowered us to overcome; the people he has brought into our lives who have changed us in meaningful ways (teacher, spouse, mentor, pastor, boss); the opportunities he has opened up; the ways in which he has provided for us spiritually and materially. The list is endless. Every recounting builds up our own faith and trust that God is loving and good and that he will continue to care for us in all things. This in turn helps us to give a faithful witness of trust and hope to our children and children's children. We present to them, not a church made up of fallible people and unfamiliar ritual, but a God who is mighty, a God who can save, a God whose presence gives meaning to life! And, who doesn't need this?