Tuesday, November 17, 2009

first generation Christians

I've been watching a documentary on TV about World War II this week.  One of the thoughts I had was that many of the young soldiers in our army were first or second generation Americans.  Many had direct family ties with Europe and the scene of the fighting.  For many the freedoms and opportunities of America were fresh and greatly valued.  The experience of leaving Europe in search of a better life was a memory of their own, or their parents', lifetimes.  But as successive generations have lived in prosperity we tend to lose an appreciation for our freedoms because we have known nothing else.  It occurs that there is no such thing as a second generation Christian.  Citizenship in Heaven means escaping the clutches of death by grasping the payment of Jesus for our shortcomings and being lifted to new life.  This happens as a matter of personal response and cannot be passed down to another generation simply by virtue of parenting a child.  As the experience of immigrating to Heaven's shores is fresh in our personal memories we ought to cherish and embrace this new life and be eager to represent our Lord on the battlefields of daily choice and personal relationships.
 
2 Peter 1:3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust.
 
Blessings (from my fox hole to yours),
Rob Smith

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