By: Landon Tucker
It’s normal to think about our legacy. How will we be remembered when we’re gone? What will people think of me? What will happen to my signed James Earl Jones poster? All normal questions to ask.
Legacy can be thought of as the long-lasting impact of a particular event or action in someone’s life. Moses left a legacy with Joshua as he passed the reins of leadership over Israel to him before he died, as the Israelites entered into the promised land. Joshua took the role as the leader of Israel seriously, and the Bible tells us that his legacy followed God and led his people well.
However, just one generation after Joshua died, the people seemed to forget all of the miracles and mercy that God had given the people of Israel after he led them out of captivity. The start of the book of Judges gives an almost chilling description of what happened just one generation after Joshua’s death:
7 The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua. They had seen all the Lord’s great works he had done for Israel. 8 Joshua son of Nun, the servant of the Lord, died at the age of 110. 9 They buried him in the territory of his inheritance, in Timnath-heres, in the hill country of Ephraim, north of Mount Gaash. 10 That whole generation was also gathered to their ancestors. After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel 11 The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals 12 and abandoned the Lord, the God of their ancestors, who had brought them out of Egypt. They followed other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They angered the Lord, 13 for they abandoned him and worshiped Baal and the Ashtoreths. Judges 2:7-13.
Verse 10 says it all: After them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works he had done for Israel.”
It almost seems impossible for the generation that saw the second-most miracles in the Bible (second only to Jesus’ generation) to take just one generation being gone for them to forget what amazing things God did for them.
Somewhere along the way, there was a discipleship breakdown. How do we avoid this in our own lives? When we’re gone, we want our children and our children’s children to know the mercies that God gave to us and all of the amazing blessings He showed during our lifetime.
So, how can we avoid the trap the Israelites fell into? Jesus gives us the answer (shocker, Jesus is somehow the answer. Shoutout to the Sunday school kids giving this same answer this Sunday).
In Matthew 22, the Pharisees are in the middle of their questions, aiming to entrap and trick Jesus into giving a false answer. The Pharisees ask Jesus what the most important commandment is:
When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest?” 37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. Matthew 22:34-39.
Jesus quotes the Shema, the central prayer for Jews from Deuteronomy 6. Every young boy grew up hearing this prayer and memorizing it. But in the Shema, there’s a clear direction for discipleship on the next generation:
Listen, Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. 5 Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. 6 These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. 7 Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:4-7.
The most important command Jesus quotes is verses 5-6. But the command for discipleship for the next generation is found in verse 7: “Repeat them to your children..”.
The most important thing we can do in life is to love God with everything we have. The next most important? Teach that to your children.
Even if we don’t have biological children, the “children” in this verse can be seen as “the next generation.” The kids you lead every week are the next generation that will be around after we’re all gone. There are many important lessons to teach to the next generation, such as: Treat others the way you want to be treated, Don’t spend all of your time in front of screens, and arguably the most important, Pineapples don’t belong on pizza.
Every week you serve in kids’ ministry remember you are a part of helping the next generation, not to forget the most important commandment. As we go into the summer, aim to make your goal to love the Lord with all of your heart and strength, and to teach it to your children.
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