Family and Blessings

Psalm 128
1Blessed is everyone who fears the Lord, who walks in his ways!
2You shall eat the fruit of the labor of your hands; you shall be blessed, and it shall be well with you.
3Your wife will be like a fruitful vine within your house; your children will be like olive shoots around your table.
4Behold, thus shall the man be blessed who fears the Lord.
5The Lord bless you from Zion! May you see the prosperity of Jerusalem all the days of your life!
6May you see your children’s children! Peace be upon Israel!

This morning’s entry comes to you from the place I call home, even though I haven’t lived here for decades; The Black Hill of South Dakota. What makes this trip even sweeter is that I’m here with my entire family. Both daughters and their families are here with me, which includes my 5 grandchildren. Then I open the Word to find the psalmist extolling to joys of being surrounded by family. These words ring with truth through my heart.

 As the Children of Israel went on their pilgrimage up to Jerusalem, they took their children with them. It was a family affair as they taught the next generation what it meant to worship the living God. Not only were the children reciting these words with their parents, they would also go to the Temple and offer their worship to God alongside of mom and dad. And while I never made a walking pilgrimage to Jerusalem, I did sit alongside my mom and dad every single Sunday as they taught me how to worship. And now I have the joy of seeing my daughters do the same thing with their children – every Sunday. They are also following what they were taught as they daily talk about the Lord to their children so that the next generation will know God too. It is a beautiful pattern and while it may be lost on many today, it is not lost to all of us. We are teaching the next generation how to fear and love the Lord, and it is the best gift that we could give them.

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