Vol. 30, No. 8 -- September 2010
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
CHRIST LUTHERAN CHURCH OF THE DEAF
9545 Georgia Avenue, Silver Spring, MD 20910
Grandparents' Day
First there was Mother's Day. Then, for the sake of "equal time," we have Father's Day. And now on the second Sunday of September we honor our Grandparents' on their day.
I can find only four stories in the Bible about grandparents and their grandchildren. Each story describes how they handled the difficulties and challenges that they faced in their families. Sadly, only two of those have a happy ending.
One of those "happy ending" grandparent stories is about Jacob in the Old Testament. There is no doubt that Jacob had an active role in the lives of his grandchildren. He had a huge family, and even after his sons were grown with families of their own, they remained a strong, close family. However, The Bible tells us only about two of Jacob's grandsons, Manasseh and Ephraim, the two sons of Joseph.
You may remember that when Joseph was a teenager, his older brothers sold him into slavery, and then they made their father believe that a wild animal killed Joseph. Many years later, when they reunited, Jacob was thrilled. But when we read Genesis 48, it seems that Jacob was even more excited about meeting his grandsons for the first time. The very first thing Jacob said when they came to visit was, "Bring them to me so I may bless them."
The New Testament grandparent was Lois. Her family lived in central Turkey. But her daughter married a gentile man who prohibited his wife and her Jewish family from taking his son Timothy to the rabbis for circumcision. Yet, when the Apostle Paul met young Timothy, Paul was so impressed with Timothy's spiritual maturity, his wisdom, and his understanding of the Bible that Paul recruited Timothy to be his #1 assistant for the rest of his life. Where did Timothy get his spiritual training in childhood? We find the answer in Paul's second letter to Timothy:
"I remember your true faith. That
faith first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice, and I
know you now have that same faith... Continue following the teachings you
learned. You know they are true, because you trust those who taught you. Since you were a child you have known the
Holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise. And that wisdom leads to
salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (1
Tim. 1.5; 3.14-15; also see Acts 16.1-3)
One famously unhappy grandparent was Noah. His relationship with his grandson Canaan was terrible. Because of Noah's own moral failings, and because of bad attitudes that Canaan had picked up from his own father, Ham, Noah ended up cursing his grandson rather than blessing him. This is a very sad story that certainly does not reflect God's plan for grandparents (see Genesis 9.20-27).*
It is natural for grandparents to brag about their grandkids. The Bible says, "Children's children are a crown to the aged" (Proverbs 17.6), and that it is a special blessing to live to see your grandchildren (Psalm 128:5-6). The Bible also instructs us to respect and care for our living grandparents (Leviticus 19.32 and 1 Timothy 5.4).
Many grandparents have jokingly told me, "If I had known that having grandkids is so much fun, I would have skipped the kids and had the grandkids first!" But God wants grandparents to do more than just enjoy (and spoil?) their grandchildren. By the example of Jacob, we see that God wants Grandma and Grandpa to bless their children and grandchildren. Lois shows us that the greatest blessing grandparents can give to their grandchildren is to teach them God's Word. Grandparents have a special opportunity to illustrate the wisdom of Scripture with the experiences of their own lives.
~~Pastor Ron
*The fourth grandparent story is about Queen Athelia who tried to murder her grandson Joash (2 Chronicles 22:10-23)