Brokenness is Inherited (Lent 22, 2023)

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Seems kind of unfair, in a sense.  Salvation is not passed from one generation to the next automatically, but the sin nature (our brokenness) is.  What began with Adam and Eve has been our legacy because once something is broken, it is not restored to wholeness. Piece it together, patch it, glue it…it’s never the same again.  It’s never just like new.

Being restored to wholeness requires being born again, and we can’t be born-again over and over for each offspring.  It’s an individual thing.  Each person must decide for him/herself.

Focus for Lent: Make the individual decision to follow Christ.

Questions for further thought:

For those of you who are parents, what is our responsibility to the next generation?  Proverbs 22:6 “Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not turn from it. “

Is that a guarantee that your children will follow Christ?  Many a heartbroken parent knows that verse provides no guarantee since the decision to follow Christ is not inherited but individual.

Does the uncertain outcome absolve parents of their responsibility?  Read Deuteronomy 11:19-21, “Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.  Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth.”

If you are not a parent, does this release you from any need to pass along the Gospel message?

Prayer:  Lord Jesus, please help me to remember that the Great Commission is for everyone, and the command You have given for us to make disciples exists whether we have young children, grown children, or no children at all. Help us, Lord, to remember that salvation is not inherited and that we can’t take it for granted that just because our parents have followed You that we are also recipients of Your salvation. Thank You, Lord, that Jesus died on a Cross to make it possible for everyone who believes to receive eternal life in Him. Amen.

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Categories Articles and Devotionals, Devotionals | Tags: | Posted on March 18, 2023

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