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Pass It On!
President Woodrow Wilson officially established the second Sunday of May as “Mother’s Day” in the U.S. in 1914. Since then, families have honored and shown their appreciation for their moms through cards, flowers, and a Sunday lunch she didn’t have to cook! When you consider all that we owe our mothers, one day of thanks is just not enough.
It is not uncommon to hear sermons today on “the Worthy Woman” of Proverbs 31 or some other famous matriarch in the Bible. But I want to give some consideration to the value of godly grandmothers. Because they are just that: grand mothers. And they have a great deal they can pass on to the next generation.
Isn’t it a shame that we usually think about things we can pass on to someone only after we die: a family heirloom, a piece of property, or antique furniture? Grandmothers, there are things you can pass on right now that will be of great benefit to your family and to the family of God.
You can pass on your inheritance. That is exactly what happened in young Timothy’s family. Paul commended him for the “sincere faith within you, which first dwelt in your grandmother Lois, and your mother Eunice, and I am sure that it is in you as well” (2 Tim. 1:5). Timothy’s grandmother passed on her sincere faith to her daughter who then passed it on to her son. That doesn’t remove the fact of free will and the responsibility that each person must make about their own faith, but it does testify to the strength of a godly example in the family.
One of the most important kinds of evangelism is done in the home. How else are your children supposed to learn about God and the Bible? The teachers and preachers in the local church get their attention for just a few hours a week. But parents and grandparents have a daily influence over them. Timothy was encouraged to “continue in the things you have learned and become convinced of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the sacred writings” (2 Tim. 3:14-15). Grandparents, if your grown children are not serving the Lord, find an opportunity to teach your grandchildren. Be an influence in their life. Perhaps you will give them something to pass back to their parents.
You can pass on your deeds. Again, not deeds to houses and property but those fitting sound doctrine. “Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good, that they many encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children” (Titus 2:3-4). Though this passage does not use the word grandmother, it does address the special place that older women have in the kingdom. They are to go about their life in such a way that their godly behavior and example would cause others to say, “That’s what I want to be like when I’m older.” Can you think of a better compliment than a younger person imitating what they learned from you?
Grandmothers, be about “teaching what is good.” That can be accomplished with your words and your deeds. “Encourage the young women” not by complaining about your husband or gossiping about people in the church, but by helping them understand the dignity and honor of their God-given role. By you saying what you need to say and doing what you need to do, you will pass on to the next generation a gift that keeps on giving. “Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord...for their deeds follow with them” (Rev. 14:13).
You can pass on your perspective. Grandmothers, you have something special to offer. “Wisdom is with aged men, with long life there is understanding” (Job 12:12). “Long life” is literally “length of days.” Just by the very nature of the case, you have been here longer. You know more. You have seen and experienced things young people have not. Don’t keep all that inside; pass it on. Our families need the wisdom and understanding that comes with your experience.
That also means that young people need to seek out the counsel of the aged. Solomon even revealed where to look for it. “A gray head is a crown of glory; it is found in the way of righteousness” (Prov. 16:31). Pass on your perspective. Help us to see what you now can see.
After the death of Joshua and his contemporaries, “there arose another generation after them that did not know the Lord, nor yet the work which He had done in Israel” (Judges 2:10). We cannot allow that to happen to this generation. We must pass on to our children and grandchildren the treasures of the sacred writings and the inheritance of a home built by our Father in heaven.
