Office of the President
Saddest Story in the Bible
“ And all that generation also were gathered to their fathers . And there arose another generation after them who did not know the
Lord or the work that he had done for Israel ” ( Judges 2:10 ).
This is the tragic story of one generation failing to train the next to love and obey God , resulting in their doing evil in the eyes of the Lord and forsaking him . It ’ s about a lost generation , and it ranks among the saddest stories in all of Scripture .
We are to fix God ’ s words in our hearts and minds and teach them to our children ( Deuteronomy 11:9 ). Unless we take seriously our responsibility to start children off on the way they should go ( Proverbs 22:6 ), the allurements of the world , the flesh , and the devil will pull them toward destructive paths .
Knowing the church of Jesus Christ is only one generation away from extinction , may we make our children our primary disciples . May they see us living compelling , joyful , Christ-centered lives . In our busyness , may we make time to invest in their spiritual nurture .
For our sons and daughters who have wandered from the truth , making poor choices , may we not give up . May we love them , pray for them , and challenge them to return to the right path . May the parable of the prodigal son help us in this , flooding our hearts with hope .
“ One generation shall commend your works to another , and shall declare your mighty acts ” ( Psalm 145:4 ). At One Mission Society , we embrace this responsibility . Some of the exciting ways we ’ re doing this are in these pages .
May we not be a part of repeating the sad story of Judges 2 . Instead , may we be of a generation who invests well in the next one , helping them know and follow Christ .
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Bob Fetherlin