WEDNESDAY January 10th
2 Timothy 1:3-7
‘I thank God whom I serve, as did my ancestors, with a clear conscience, as I remember you constantly in my prayers night and day. As I remember your tears, I long to see you, that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.’
Paul in these verses has mentioned his own ancestors, then as he writes to Timothy, he reminds him of his ancestors, going back three generations, from Timothy to his mother Eunice and to his grandmother Lois. He highlights that the faith that was instilled in Lois, had trickled down through the generations so that Timothy himself had received the same faith. Notice that Paul uses the words ‘SINCERE faith’, that is the faith that they had displayed was genuine, real, tangible.
Now, I can look backward and I can say that I thank God for the faith that has been instilled in my life which was also instilled in the life of my mother Joy, and also of my grandmother Ethel, and although I didn’t know her, my great-mother as well. I guess that many who will read this devotion can also look backward and testify to the genuineness of their faith which was also seen in their parents and grandparents, and we give thanks to God for this generational blessing.
But then, there will be those who will read this devotion and your story may be different, you may be the first generation of your family who has come to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, maybe the only person in your family, the same cannot be said of your parents or grandparent, if they are still with us, then we can pray that God will make himself known to them.
However whatever the past, we cannot change what has been, but there is one thing for sure, we can seek to do what we can to ensure that the faith that we have experienced will also be passed onto our next generation and likewise to the generation after. I thank God for my children who like myself have come to a genuine faith and relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and my prayer is that their children, my grandchildren will also come to the place of accepting Jesus as Saviour and Lord. May we spend time praying this year for family members to come to know the same genuine faith that we have in the Lord Jesus Christ.