Remember and Tell

Deuteronomy 4:1a, 9 - "And now, O Israel, listen ... Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children." 

When my son was a newborn, we began the custom of reading a chapter of the Bible each night together, before family prayers. It might sound silly—what can a baby understand of the stories we read? But we adults remembered, and over the years, as my son grew up, we continued. Now he knows the Lord and is growing in His faith as an adult. 

At Lutheran Hour Ministries we get that question a lot: How do I pass on the Christian faith to my children and grandchildren? I trust in Jesus, I know what He has done for me; He is my life and hope and salvation—what can I do to pass on that blessing to my family? Moses was facing the same question in his final speech recorded in Deuteronomy. He knew he was about to die, and Israel would have to pass on their faith in the Lord to the next generations on their own. 

And so he appeals to what they have seen with their own eyes over the years since they came out of Egypt. He reminds them of what the Lord has done for them—the rescue from slavery, the way He parted the Red Sea so they could escape from the Egyptian army. He reminds them of how God provided them with manna to eat and water to drink, out in the barren wilderness—and also the times when God protected them from their enemies (see Deut. 11, 8, and 23). And Moses sums it up this way: They need to remember all the good things the Lord has done for them, and trust in Him without forgetting; and they need to tell those stories to their children and grandchildren, so that they too may trust in the Lord. 

And this is key for us too, isn't it? As Christians, we know and remember the marvelous things the Lord has done for us, how He came into this world as a human being, born to live under the same hardships and suffering that we have. We know how Jesus saved us, laying down His own life on the cross to set us free from sin, guilt, and evil; and we know He rose from the dead, and promises to share that victory with us who trust in Him. We know these stories—now let's tell them to our children and grandchildren, so that they, too, may believe. Let's do it as bedtime stories; when we're in the car for long trips; when they're afraid and need comfort; and when they feel lonely and need to know God cares for them. That way they, too, may know and believe. 

This Daily Devotion for August 27, 2024 was written by Dr. Kari Vo.