Honor Past Generations Series

The future occupies much of our consideration, as well it should. Where we are headed is very important. As Bible-believing people, however, we certainly owe a look to the past. We have an obligation to those who have gone before us. We must always remember that no matter how hard we work and no matter how much we put into something, none of us are self-made men and women. We are all a product of what God and others have done in our life. We must teach our family to honor past generations.

There Are 5 Ways to Honor Past Generations:

1. By Being Willing to Have Children

“Children’s children are the crown of old men…” (Proverbs 17:6)

In order for there to be “children’s children” there has to be children. This verse reveals what is the crown of old men – Children! It is life’s most satisfying and crowning achievement to leave this world a better place through the blessing of Christ honoring descendants.

In God’s plan, there are some couples that are unable to have any children or perhaps He allows another couple to only have one or two children. Yes, in some cases God chooses other goals. In this event we know God has a plan for good and not evil and we give Him the glory, and understand that His way is best.

The typical plan, the Bible plan, and certainly the Bible example however, is to have as many sons and daughters as the Lord would give. We find that families in the Bible were large. David, for example was one of eight children. There were numerous characters that had a large number of children. We are told in Scripture that having children is actually a God-given desire. It is God himself that places a hunger in the hearts of people to have and want children. The prophet in Malachi 2:15 shows us the reason why God wanted children, “And did not he make one? Yet had he the residue of the spirit. And wherefore one? That he might seek a godly seed. Therefore take heed to your spirit, and let none deal treacherously against the wife of his youth.” The context of this verse is God explaining to priests, who were claiming to be God’s men, why they should stay married. These men were divorcing their wives left and right and getting others. God warned them that this is not right, because He is looking for descendants to come forth.

One big reason God wants people to stay married is, because He looking for “godly seed.” He desires a man and woman to propagate, multiply, and to fill up the earth with children who live in such a way that they will become Godly seed. God wants you to have a Christ honoring home. The missionaries of tomorrow are the babies of today. Those who will be serving in ministry tomorrow are the ones on the cradle row today. God is saying in effect, “I want this world to be evangelized, I want this world to be given the Gospel, I want this world to know the truth. If children are born in a Godly home there is a much greater chance that they will grow up to love Me.” It is true that everybody has to choose the Lord on his or her own. They can’t be born into a Godly home, and then somehow automatically be accepted into Heaven, but we can give children an appetite for the things of God by feeding them Jesus!

Older people love children. This is a fact, proven over and over again. The thing that people talk about and think about when they get older is their children, their grandchildren, and their great-grandchildren. Years ago, Lynette, myself and “group one” (the first four of our children), went to rural Montana for a Pollock family reunion. All the family units wore t-shirts by color. Even though it wasn’t spoken, the son or daughter with the most t-shirts “won” – everybody wanted a lot of t-shirts in their group. So, the “huge” Tim Pollock family, with only 4 children at the time, were the rock stars of the family reunion! I have thought about that moment over the years and realized how the desire for children changes over the decades of marriage. When you are first married, you usually want at least “a kid” or two. Then, over the years, the challenge comes physically, emotionally, and financially. Life is good, but it also can be rough. In those moments you’re thinking to yourself, “Do I really want a large family?”

Fast-forward forty years down the line to when you are sitting at a reunion…then everybody wants a lot of children! A lot of my emotions are just feelings in response to circumstances of the moment, but if I will wait five years, or ten years, or twenty years, then I’ll have a completely different perspective. When people come to the end of their life they realize what a blessing children are. Children are crowns; a thing we want! If we don’t have children, we can’t have children’s children, and if we don’t have children’s children then our crown doesn’t have quite the value that we would like it to have. God is in charge of the amount of children that come, but we honor past generations by giving our bodies to God and allowing Him to produce Godly seed.