Handing Down the Faith

And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind. (I Chronicles 28:9)

Read: I Chr. 28:4-10; Hos. 6:3; Acts 17:27; III Jn. 4

What Is God Saying?

David was near the end of his long reign. Now David is getting ready to pass on the responsibility of leadership to Solomon and he shares his deepest thoughts with him in verses 4 through 10. They are the words of a conscientious father to a promising son, and they can be the substance of a heartfelt message from any Christian father and mother who wants the best for their sons and daughters. It is a forerunner of those touching words found at the end of the Bible spoken by John near the end of his life- ‘No greater joy can I have than this, to hear that my children walk in truth’ (III John 4). ‘Solomon, my son, know the God of your Father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind.’

How Does This Apply To Us?

How many parents there are who have known and walked with God (failures notwithstanding) in paths of righteousness! What better heritage could they leave, what better quality of life could they hope to see continued, than that their children would know the God of their fathers and mothers? We can pass on jewelry, the deed to a house, ownership of a business, and equal shares of an estate. There are so many worthwhile things but none approaches the importance of knowing the God of their fathers. Since that is the best thing we can pass on to them, it is of supreme importance that it comes to them without a blemish or breakage or loss We must make sure that our children want to know the God of their fathers. What do they see in our lives that makes the option of knowing God the most attractive item on the agenda, the most important treasure in the inventory? Is It possible that the parents' reflection of God is blurred or distorted? Do they ever sense that knowing our God and serving him with a whole heart and with a willing mind wasn't really all that important to us? The true reflection of God's love and goodness to our children should be highest on our list of priorities.

Pray With Me

God of my fathers and my God, I thank You for the knowledge of Your love which has come to me because those who went before served You with a ‘whole heart and a willing mind.’ Help me see that I am a link in the chain. I will pass along some impressions of the importance of faith. Be it true or false, strong or weak, convincing or confusing, it will be. Lord, I want to turn to my sons and others and say without embarrassment, ‘My son, know the God of your father.’ May they want to know the God of their father because they see that knowing God was worthwhile for him. May they want to know the God of their father because they see that knowing God brought meaning into their father’s life.

O Lord, let there be nothing in me that would keep others, especially those who are younger, from knowing You and serving You. If there is a root of disobedience or faithless doubt that would keep me from the service of a whole heart and a willing mind, remove it. Remove it now. Remove it completely. Remove it forever. If there is a crack in the surface of my devotion to You, heal it by the touch of Your transforming grace. Then, with convincing confidence, I will turn to others and say, more by my life than by my lips, ‘Know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind.’

For the sake of Him who has made God the Father perfectly known and whose own life inspires the service of the whole heart and the willing mind, even Christ my Lord. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Prayer should always focus on how our lives are being read by others. Are there things in our lives that should be changed or removed so that our profession of faith becomes believable? This is truly a matter of prayer concerning the impact of our life on all others, but it is supremely essential that we pray about the effect it is having on the best earthly gifts that God has given to us, our children. This alone will keep us moving on in the life of prayer.