Stories of faithfulness are the stories that get shared through those generations – think about the stories of your faith… that story about how you shared your faith with a neighbor, that story about how you made a financial sacrifice to help out a friend, that story about taking food to your mentor that was dealing with a loss… those are the stories of faith, those are the stories of family.
Families can be a place of building fences or tearing down walls. Our faithfulness to live our lives in love, to become a greater family calls us to tear down walls, but sometimes families are the root of just the opposite.
When I was growing up, I listened to country radio all the time. Now every once in a while, the lyrics would include a line about a family feud. And usually, the one it referenced was the Hatfield & McCoys. Have you heard of them?
What story do we know about them? What story has been passed down through the generations about these families? It was even featured on the history channel, as one of the reasons that some of our state borders are shaped the way they are. We know their story because of a feud, a big family fight! No doubt that there are people in these families that were devout, faithful, loving people, but the stories that are told are the stories of a feud, not the stories of faith.
Which stories do you want to be told about your family? Do you want to be known as a family of fences and borders or a family of faith, openness and love?
Holy God, I pray that our children will grow up in faith, with open and loving hearts, full of your grace. Amen.