By: Pastor Jarren Rogers

One of the most selfless acts one can observe and experience is that of a parent living sacrificially so that their children can have a better life than they did. It’s the father who works three jobs so they can pay their child’s way through college. It’s the mother who skips dinner so that her children can eat.

As humans, we raise our children with the intention and the hope that their generation will do something that ours could not, that their generation will be happier and more prosperous than ours. And, as Christians, we should live in such a way that the next generation would know and trust God more fully than ours.

David knew this. Look at what he writes in Psalm 102:

“Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you” (v.1).

Things aren’t going so hot for David. It’s obvious that he is distressed. He calls upon God for aid. His anguish is so intense that he describes that his “bones burn like glowing embers” (v. 3), and he is “reduced to skin and bones” (v. 5).

But for David, hope is not lost. For there is hope in a new generation. 

“Let this be written for a future generation, that a people not yet created may praise the Lord…The children of your servants will live in your presence; their descendants will be established before you” (v. 18, 28).

In this Psalm, despite his difficulties, David sings praises to God. He sings of his good works and his mighty acts, his constant presence, and miraculous deliverance. He puts all of these good things about God to song, but he is adamant that it must be written down. He wants to ensure that it can be preserved so that future generations can come to know God goodness as well. 

What we do today effects what we do tomorrow. How we speak and act echoes into the generations to follow. Our greatest successes and greatest mistakes have lasting impacts on the people who come after us. This is a great blessing! But also a great curse. 

The good news is that the stories and testimonies we share with our kids and our grandchildren are never lost. When we talk about God and his goodness, we are doing our part to “establish our children before God.” 

We cannot trust the commitment of the future generation solely to pastors nor the church. This is a group effort and it begins with you! 

What has God done? How has he been good? How have you seen his grace and provision at work? 

Let it be written down for a future generation! Speak it with your lips and proclaim it with your faith. May we begin now in making the next generation the most Spirit-filled generation yet!