"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."
-Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV)
The last thing I want us to look at for now concerning how the Family is DIVERSE, is that the Family is DIVERSE Generationally (is that a word? Whatever.). Look at Genesis 17:7: “And I will establish my covenant between me and you and your offspring after you throughout their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and to your offspring after you.” This is one of the most beautiful aspects of the Family. The Family dinner table does not just include those who are living, but those who have already passed on.
This may not be something that we think about regularly, but it is a beautiful reality that the world did not begin when I was born, nor will it end when I leave this earth. Every single one of us is a living legacy of those who came before us. Each one of us has a Father and a Mother, and each of them has a Father and a Mother, and each one of them has a Father and a Mother, and so on and so forth, all the way back to our first parents. I am often amazed at the fact that I exist. Have you ever thought about this? Somehow, your ancestors survived war, disease, bad weather, food shortages, bandits, and whatever else this crazy world through at them, and made it possible for you to exist! How crazy is that?
In the same way, the faith that was shared with me, that I share with you now, did not just come into existence out of nothing, but has been passed down from generation to generation, the eyewitness accounts of the things that God has done over the course of history, to reach your ears now so that you might believe. Many of those who have faithfully passed the faith on to us are still living now, living testimonies of the faithfulness of God to another generation. These are those that we are called to honor, to respect, and to learn from. We do not do as our culture does and ignore the older generations, but we should pay attention to the way they live, and desire to imitate their faith as they imitate Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1).
"Beloved, while I was making every effort to write you about our common salvation, I felt the necessity to write to you appealing that you contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all handed down to the saints."-Jude 3 (NASB)
