Tell the next generation that this is God. Our God forever and ever. He will guide us forever. – Psalm 48:13-14

In his book, Flags of Our Fathers, James Bradley tells the story of his father who was one of the Navy Corpsman who helped raise the flag in that iconic photo on Iwo Jima in World War 2. He relates that his father never shared with him anything at all about the war. Though his father was awarded the Navy Cross for heroism, James never knew what his father did in the war or where he served. And when people told young James that his father was a hero, he was surprised. He asked his dad about it, but his dad never said anything except that the real heroes died on the battlefield. James was instructed on Memorial Day or the 4th of July not to answer the phone, and if any reporters came to his door, to tell them his dad went on a fishing trip to Canada.

After his father passed away, James was going through his things in the attic, and he found a box. In it was a Purple Heart, a Navy Cross, and the picture of his father raising the flag on Iwo.

James never got to hear from his dad about the bravery and heroism of the men who fought and died on that island. He never heard the firsthand account of his dad’s experience. One of the most formative and important aspects of his father’s life was left out of their relationship.

For us as Christians with kids, that’s sometimes true of us also. We often keep silent about the single most important aspect of our lives.

But we are told to share our story and the tenets of the Christian faith with the next generation.

Christianity is said to have only children, no grandchildren. No one inherits their salvation from the previous generation, but each must personally receive Christ themselves. Just because someone was born in a Christian household, a certain denomination or was baptized as a child does not mean they are going to heaven. No amount of serving, giving, or goodness buys a ticket in. It is through faith alone, in Christ alone, through grace alone, that we gain right standing with God.

No man can offer you this gift, only Christ can give it - and in accepting Christ, we become, as Luther put it, the priesthood of believers. And we who have believed in Christ have been charged with a task. We are to go into all the world and tell them about Christ. And we are tasked to tell the next generation about Christ in a way that connects with the next generation.

Though we mustn’t change the content, the packaging of the container must change. We are all missionaries in our culture. And as missionaries, we must learn how to communicate to that culture.

Let’s ask God to really give a vision for the next generation, a desire to share Christ with them, and a willingness to do it in a way that might stretch us but will connect with them.

Questions for Thought

1. How have you shared Christ with the next generation?

2. What happens if we don’t reach out to the next generation about Jesus?

3. Who can you share the gospel with this month?