Grandparents And Grandchildren

Almost everybody you know in the Bible became a grandparent.

But since the term is not used in the Bible we tend to ignore this

fact and seldom think of people as grandparents, and of children as

grandchildren. When I read the blessing at the end of Psa. 128

that says may you live to see your children's children, I realized

that is the way the Hebrews described grandchildren. They are

your children's children. So I looked up children in the

concordance and realized it would take many hours of searching to

find all the places where children's children are mentioned. So I

typed it into the computer and it told me instantly that

grandchildren are referred to ten times.

The one thing the Bible makes clear is that grandparents are

often the determining factor in the righteousness and love of God

being passed down from generation to generation. If grandpa and

grandma do not care about the will of God, and it is not a priority

in their lives, the flame of faith can go out, and the torch will not

pass to the grandchildren. It can often skip a generation, and

children may rebel and depart from the faith. We see it often in

the Bible. But if grandparents are faithful the grandchildren can

pick up where they leave off, and they can keep the fire of faith

burning.

Psa. 103:17-18 says, "But from everlasting to everlasting the

Lord's love is with those who fear Him and His righteousness with

their children's children-with those who keep His covenant and

remember to obey His precepts." Grandparents play a vital role

in keeping God's kingdom going and going. In the Lord's prayer

we pray for His kingdom to come and His will to be done on earth

as it is in heaven. This prayer is answered in large measure

because of godly grandparents.

When you read the biographical writings of Christians it is

amazing how often you read that it was the grandparents who most

impacted them for Christ. For example, here is the testimony of

Dale Evans Rogers: "My childhood hero was my Granddaddy

Wood of Uvalde, Texas. As I look back now, I still believe he was

one of the finest and most generous men I ever knew. The people

of Uvalde, a small, typical Southwestern Texas town, dearly loved

and respected my grandfather Wood. He was tall,

broad-shouldered with a thin frame-a no-nonsense man, but I

especially recall the warmth and kindness in his eyes. Two

memories especially stand tall in mind: During my high school

days I loved to play the piano and sing for him because he was so

appreciative and complimentary. And then I recall the nightly

prayer time in his bedroom. All of the family was expected to

attend, and we did! His goodnight prayer sent us all off to bed with

the feeling we had been with God. Granddaddy loved unselfishly,

and was greatly loved in return. He taught me much about love. It

is true he wasn't much of a talker, but he was a real doer."

This is a very common testimony, and I have the same one. It

was not my mother and father that most influenced me for Christ.

It was my godly grandparents. There was also an uncle that

influenced me, and he too was a grandpa. Margaret Mead, the

world famous author, made this statement: "The closest friends I

have made all through life have been people who also grew up close

to a loved and loving grandmother and grandfather."

One of the reasons for this being so true for so many is because

of the very nature of the relationship of grandparents and

grandchildren. Parents have to be more Old Testament in relation

to a child. There is a lot of law involved in the training of a child.

But grandparents can focus on grace. They are more New

Testament in their relationship to the grandchildren. A high

school youth said, "When my father says, 'you are so dumb,' that

makes me feel just terrible. So when I can, I go to see my

grandmother and tell her about it. Then she says, 'I think what

you did is not so good. But you're O. K.'"

Parents often have to be involved in discipline, and justice

often leads to conflict. Kids feel they are being treated unfairly,

and often it is true because parents are not omniscient and really

do not know the degree of guilt in each child. On the other hand,

grandparents can focus on mercy and give love and understanding

even to the guilty child. Many a rebel who cannot get along with

their parents is saved for the kingdom by grandparents who do not

need to deal with the tensions from the same perspective. It is