Written by Ron Byers, Pastor of Barfield Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, TN
Proverbs 17:6 says, “Children’s children are the crown of old men; and the glory of children are their fathers.”
This verse expresses an honor that is felt by grandparents due to their grandchildren, as well as an honor that is felt by children because of their fathers.
What a wonderful opportunity to keep families connected and interacting for their mutual good! There should be a continual overlapping to reach across the generations and invest and help in each other’s lives.
One of the greatest ways to invest and help is to build a strong relationship with each generation, starting with the father of your grandchildren. This in turn could provide the best possible future for your grandchildren as your positive influence blesses your family relationships.
This noble duty and opportunity to impact the fathers of our grandchildren can help leave our portion of the world a little better than when we found it. There are definite steps we can take, with the authority of Scripture, that can make a big difference for our loved ones.
Wisdom
Job 12:12 “With the ancient is wisdom; and in length of days understanding.”
You have gained wisdom through the years, which is a treasure of great value. Do not listen to the whispers of our Adversary that we should keep quiet, we have nothing to contribute, or our voice is not appreciated. The storehouse of Godly wisdom is of much more value than whatever monetary inheritance we can pass along.
In some cases, we may have children that are eager to listen to our advice, and we should be willing to share with them. In other instances, they may have less openness to our treasures of truth, and we need to pray for the Lord to give us opportunities to help and the discernment to know when, where, and how much to impart to them.
Testimony
Psalm 37:25 “I have been young, and now am old; yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread.”
While wisdom is general truth for all time and all places, your testimony is your own personal set of unique experiences.
I like to go to a new restaurant after hearing someone’s personal testimony of how much they enjoyed it. I appreciate a warning from someone who has endured an unpleasant experience at a place of business and can steer me away from it.
Many of us have a will to set forth our wishes for our possessions after we are gone. A will was originally known as a “Last will and testament.” The purpose was not only to distribute belongings, but also to share the testament or testimony of a person’s beliefs and experiences.
We need to give our children and grandchildren a good reason to believe we can all meet together again in our eternal home!
Boldness
Job 32:6-7 “And Elihu the son of Barachel the Buzite answered and said, I am young, and ye are very old; wherefore I was afraid, and durst not shew you mine opinion. I said, days should speak, and multitude of years should teach wisdom.”
Elihu was timid to speak because he was younger than the others. We probably all know someone up in years who is very blunt, and they just don’t care what anyone thinks of what they say. They speak whatever is on their mind and let the chips fall where they may.
While there is certainly a case for politeness and respect, there is also a need for holy boldness that takes a stand for what is right.
Patrick Henry is famous for boldly proclaiming, “Give me liberty, or give me death!” He probably would not be remembered today if he had simply said, “I would kind of like to have more liberty, if you don’t mind.” His boldness had a great effect on many future generations to come.
Anticipation
Romans 13:11 “And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.”
Jesus died on the Cross so He could save us from our sins and take us to be with Him forever. As Believers, the older we get, the closer we are to the fulfillment of His plan. And the nearer we are, the more we ought to look forward to it.
Our grandchildren may count down the days until Christmas, or until school is out, or until a big vacation begins. We don’t know how many days until we see Jesus, but our grandchildren, and the fathers of our grandchildren ought to see the anticipation we feel when we look forward to our Heavenly home!
Conclusion
God has given grandchildren to their grandparents as a glorious crown, and we should make their future as bright as possible!
How? By pouring everything we can into them and into their fathers, who are their crown, so we can continue to have a powerful influence for good, throughout many generations to come!
