Honoring our elders

I was just thinking about why we live such lukewarm lives and why for the most part we seam to be frustrated with that. We don't like living at 10% for Jesus. We are all painfully aware of how much more there is to this life, and how much more of Jesus we can have in our lives. But somehow we just don't ever use that frustration to press in and get to know Jesus better. There is such power in the gospel, that saves us, heals us (emotionally and physical), power to go out and spread the good news.

I am not sure fully why and I guess that it is a big question with a complicated answer, with everyone having there own contributing factors...

The one factor that I have seen in our church's and country over the last while especially among our young people, is a lack of honor being given to those who went before us. I am talking about the old people, the over 50's.

I have been thinking about how much easier it is to walk in the footsteps of the people who went before you. I have been reading though 1Kings this last while and when is goes through all the kings after David it keeps referring to;

15v26 He was openly evil before GOD-he followed in the footsteps of his father who both sinned and made Israel sin.

15v34He was openly evil before GOD, walking in the footsteps of Jeroboam, who both sinned and made Israel sin.

16v2"I took you from nothing--a complete nobody--and set you up as the leader of my people Israel, but you plodded along in the rut of Jeroboam, making my people Israel sin and making me seethe over their sin."

These are just three examples it keeps referring to how they were like Jeroboam, how they lived in the legacy that he had made, or walked in his footsteps. Also there are the positive things as well, like King David killed a giant, we all know the story, but what we often forget is that there were 3 more giants killed all by King Davids men!! ie. Hang around a giant killer, become a giant killer...

Even for an example closer to home, both of my great Grandparents on one side were in the Massons, but my Grandfather refused to join the massions when he was young. My father got to walk in his footsteps and did not join, that made it so much easier for him not to join, and for me it was not even an issue! We get to walk in the inheritance that is left for us.

When we do not give honor to those elders around us, we louse so much, we louse that inheritance that they have for us, we louse their wisdom, we louse those testimonies of how Jesus came through for them! Whatever we like to say testimonies build faith!! In the kingdom we see, when we believe and testimonies make it so much easier to believe...