Faith

Sonnet 3: Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest

By William Shakespeare

Look in thy glass and tell the face thou viewest,
Now is the time that face should form another,
Whose fresh repair if now thou not renewest,
Thou dost beguile the world, unbless some mother.
For where is she so fair whose uneared womb
Disdains the tillage of thy husbandry?
Or who is he so fond will be the tomb
Of his self-love, to stop posterity?
Thou art thy mother’s glass, and she in thee
Calls back the lovely April of her prime;
So thou through windows of thine age shalt see,
Despite of wrinkles, this thy golden time.
     But if thou live rememb’red not to be,
     Die single, and thine image dies with thee.

What do you pass on to posterity? What is your heritage, and what is your role in it?

 

On one occasion when some homeless people were hanging out, a junkie in the group bragged "I'm the King of the panhandlers!"  Is this something you would want to pass on to your kids and grandkids? Is this a heritage to be proud of? Something to tell your grandkids? I think not!

What should be passed down through generations are Biblical values. The universe does not begin and end with you. The view of the existentialists - that the here and now, the moment, is all that matters and that there is no historical continuity is a dim view of life. It is self centeredness, self love, nothing to inherit, nothing to pass on, no heritage. No hits, no errors, three outs, no men left on base.

Christians have a great heritage, which has been passed on, though the family and by other means.

"Likewise, teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Titus 2:3-5"

Parents should bring their children up in the abonition of the Lord and pass on their experiences and wisdom they gained through the years, and set a good example. Not just parents, but older people can mentor younger ones. "Is not wisdom found among the aged? Does not long life bring understanding?" Job 12:12

Older folks have more life experience than young ones, sometimes learning by their mistakes. Sometimes it takes a long time to learn, even, in my case, many decades. There's an old German saying: "Why is it so soon we get old and so late smart?" The point is that some people take longer than others to learn, but they do learn. Older people, at least those on the right path, have much wisdom to pass on to the younger set.

Sometimes there is a break in the Christian heritage in a Christian family. The pastor of the church I attended in the 90s said that biggest problem in the church is that the sons and daughters of members have left the church. This was a trend that started in the Woodstock era, where peace and love can be created out of thin air, just by thinking good thoughts. It's where you, in the words of Cosby, Stills and Nash:

Got to get back to the land and set my soul free
We are stardust, we are golden
We are billion year old carbon
And we got to get ourselves back to the garden

Sounds like the fuzzy, unrealistic Romanticism of William Wordsworth, who believed in "emotion recollected in tranquility.". This is sentimental expression of subjective feeling, not based on anything outside ourselves, not based on God's love and caring for us. Not based on reality.

I remember a college professor telling us that the Romantics were the forerunners of the flower children of the 60s.

According to this philosophy, you just have to go to Woodstock, and presto, you'll be back in the Garden of Eden! Hey hipsters! We got kicked out of the Garden of Eden! Ever read Genesis?

As what I can recall, my Christian heritage went back to my grandfather, whom, if I remember correctly, was converted at a Billy Graham crusade. My parents passed the faith onto my siblings and me. My sister stayed strong in the faith. I tended to wander from the faith, in and out of it, half stepping. But for the past few years, after God let me go my own way for awhile, I came stronger. During her early, impressionable years, I took my daughter to church and Sunday school. She also went to a Christian based preschool. At one point, I stopped taking my daughter to church. She asked why, and what we believed? I don't remember what I said, but I glossed over the question, making an excuse.

I wasn't the best example for my daughter.

Since I returned to the faith stronger, my daughter noticed a positive change in me. I'm learning the God is sovereign: He is in control, and He works in mysterious ways. And His will be done!

"to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me." Acts 26:18