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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If you’re already signed up on my Home Page sidebar to receive posts, you’ll get the 2023 Lent Devotionals automatically. Or you can “Like” Seminary Gal on Facebook and they’ll be delivered to your Facebook news feed. If you haven’t signed up, today is a great day to do so. Advent and Lenten devotionals remain among my most popular offerings. You don’t want to miss this encounter with God to prepare your heart for Easter! Understanding that prior years’ devotionals continue to minister, you may want to have access to a full series ahead of time:

• Lent 2013 looked at The Letter to the Romans: Paul’s Masterpiece to reclaim foundations of our Christian heritage and began February 13, 2013.
•  A very special and ever popular offering was Lent 2014’s Be Still and Know that I AM God  which can be obtained through the archives beginning in March 2014. 
• Lent 2015 began on February 18, 2015 with a series entitled With Christ in the Upper Room: Final Preparations.  We explored what is often called “The Upper Room Discourse” found in John chapters 13-17. 
• ReKindle, the Lent 2016 series, began on February 10, 2016 and encouraged us to rekindle our spiritual lives.
• Light: There’s Nothing Like It was the 2017 Lent series and explored this metaphor often used to portray Christ.  It is archived beginning March 1, 2017.
• Lent 2018, we explored the questions of Pi and Chi (the Greek letter beginning the word Christos, which means Christ, Messiah, the Anointed One). We asked and answered the questions “Why?” from the movie Life of Pi as we discovered the uniqueness of Jesus Christ in a world of many faiths.
• Lent 2019 gave us a deeper window into Easter “More to the Easter Story” since we miss so much when we rely only on a superficial understanding of the work of Christ. These devotionals are archived beginning March 6, 2019.
• Our Lent 2020 devotional series offered prayer points surrounding “Be Thou My Vision” and were aimed at helping us to see God for who He is. The full set of devotionals are archived beginning February 26, 2020.
• The theme for 2021 Lent Devotionals was how to live between two worlds while waiting for Christ’s return. Into the gap between the City of Man and its fixation upon sin and the City of God with its demand for holiness, two words minister peace: But God. Praise God for His intervention! They are archived beginning February 17, 2021.
• Last year’s devotionals, Revelation in 40 offered 40 vignettes, scenes, concepts, and thoughts to inspire us to read the Book of Revelation as it is written and to go deeper. They are archived beginning March 2, 2022.