Anchoring Your Family, Part 2 of 3
Anchoring Your Family
Part 2 of 3
Click here for Part 1 of 3 or here for Part 3 of 3.
In part 1 of this series, we reviewed how the Lord establishes symbols to remind us (and our children) of our faith. The key is understanding how the symbol is established. You cannot establish a symbol without the foundation.
This is very similar to how a company establishes a logo or a brand. The logo or brand name is nothing more than a symbol for the company. If the company does not produce quality products, the symbol is meaningless. A symbol of our faith without the faith working in our lives is also meaningless. Our faith becomes the foundation for teaching our children about a relationship with God. This is our responsibility as parents, whether our children are just a plan, newborn, or with children of their own.
The Lord does not limit our responsibilities to our children, nor can we. In the Scripture, Deuteronomy 4:9, tells us our responsibility is,
“…to your children and to their children after them.”
There is no generational barrier to relieve us from our accountability for our children, grandchildren, and other descendents. What we do now has a great influence on our children, on their children, their grandchildren, and the countless generations beyond them. The Spiritual Principles at work in this involve the generational chain, whereas we may pass to our descendents either a generational blessing or a generational curse. These are serious principles.
The Bible shows this in Exodus 20:5-6, when referring to pagan idols:
“You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate Me, but showing love to a thousand [generations] of those who love Me and keep My commandments.”
Can you imagine being the anchor to stir up God’s love in your descendents for a thousand generations? This persuasion does not stop with your great-grandchildren’s great-grandchildren, which is only six generations, but extends to a thousand beyond your own. Or, can you imagine bringing the curse of punishment to your grandchildren?
Ok, some of you are pooh-poohing this concept as Old Testament, outdated, or something that does not apply to you. Like you, I find it very easy to reject something old fashion, especially if it seems outdated or not having a bearing in my life. So, let’s take a look at a modern example of how this whole curse business works.
An example (and warning) is Joseph Kennedy, a man who influenced a nation while alive and was notorious in his business dealings. He made his fortunes as a bootlegger with connections to organized crime, the government, and newspaper tycoons. He had many affairs and left mysterious deaths surrounding his activities. He played a critical role in his daughter Rosemary’s failed lobotomy, and used people for his purposes, which can be conpared to selfishness and greed. This provided a great amount of wealth for his family, yet did his actions touch their lives in other ways?
During World War II, Joseph Kennedy junior died in a plane crash, age 29. Rosemary Kennedy was institutionalized from 1941 until her death in 2005 because of retardation and the effects of a failed lobotomy. Kathleen Kennedy married William John Robert Cavendish, who was killed in World War II. She later died in a plane crash, age 28. President John Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas, Texas, age 46. President Kennedy’s son Patrick was born prematurely in 1963 and died two days later, his daughter Arabella was stillborn in 1956. Robert Kennedy was assassinated in June 1968, age 43. Robert Kennedy’s son, Robert Jr. was found in possession of marijuana while a juvenile and heroin as an adult. Robert Kennedy’s son, David died in 1984 of a drug overdose. Robert Kennedy’s son, Joseph was involved in a 1973 car accident that left a female passenger paralyzed for life. In 1969, Ted Kennedy drove a car off the Chappaquiddick Island bridge in Massachusetts, killing Mary Jo Kopechne. Edward Kennedy’s son, Edward Jr. had his right leg amputated in 1973 because of cancer. Edward Kennedy’s nephew, William Kennedy Smith was accused of committing rape in 1991. Michael Kennedy, son of the late Robert Kennedy, died in a skiing accident in 1998. John F. Kennedy Jr. died in a plane crash with his wife and her sister in 1999.
The Kennedy Curse is a well-known, well-documented theory many people consider mysterious or supernatural, and others discard as coincidence. Even Ted Kennedy referred to the curse seven days after his accident at the Chappaquiddick Island bridge, when he made a televised statement saying, “I wonder if some awful curse hangs over all the Kennedys.” When you consider our God is very mysterious and supernatural, that His very existence is beyond our comprehension, and such a punishment as the Kennedy Curse holds Biblical accuracy, we begin to see this as something more than coincidence, and quite possibly an example of a generational chain with implications in our lives. We can no longer reject this theory as outdated or not applicable.
Scriptures do not suggest we can align every particular sin and its consequences in such a neat order. In our fallen nature, we have neither the wisdom nor capacity to understand God’s actions. Yet as an example, the Kennedy Curse bears resemblance to the curse we all bear by the sin of Adam, which is the curse of death. As we are descendents of one man, whether we are a Kennedy or not, we bear the curse of our forefather, Adam. The curse is a penalty of sin and a penalty to be paid. We see this further explained in Exodus 34:6-7:
And He [the Lord] passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The LORD, the LORD, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. Yet He does not leave the guilty unpunished; He punishes the children and their children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation.”
This verse repeats the warning of the generational curse, and clarifies “He does not leave the guilty unpunished.” While these verses may appear to limit the curse to the third and fourth generation, we know Adam’s curse is a penalty for all mankind, compounded by our own guilt and disobedience. This penalty is death.
With this knowledge, we find ourselves in a position where we bear the curse of Adam, any generational curses of our ancestors, and the penalties of our own sin. This is passed to our children, with the sins of another generation added to our own. This chain of guilt will continue until broken.
Our responsibility as parents, and specifically as individuals, is to break that chain of guilt and to anchor our families in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us in 1 Timothy 2:5-6:
For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men– the testimony given in its proper time.
As the above warning tells us “He does not leave the guilty unpunished”, God also provides the Promised One as ”… a ransom for all men.” Jesus Christ paid the penalty of death for all of our sins. Our guilt is paid through His death and resurrection, our bondage to the curse of our forefathers is broken, and we are redeemed.
This means we will live forever; we will have immortality. This means I can say, “I will not die.” Oh, this chubby, scarred, and aching body will die away, but I will go on in some other form, and will live eternally. How well do you know this?
Ok, let’s look at this straightforward:
- Without Jesus Christ, we bear the sins and punishment of Adam, ancestral sin, and our own sin.
- Without Jesus Christ, we pass this sin onto our children and our children’s children for three or four generations.
- With Jesus Christ, the chain is broken and the door is opened for blessings for our children and our children’s children for a thousand generations.
The whole concept of Jesus Christ paying the price for our guilt is what we hear preached over and over again in churches all around the world. In some places, this message is delivered with condemnation and judgment without the mercy and grace God intended, which leaves us inoculated to the truth behind the message. Sometimes, hypocrites at the pulpit may preach the “do as I say and not as I do” sermon so many times, we get inoculated to their message, and as such, we miss the truth. I know – I was inoculated to the point where the message had no bearing in my life. I didn’t quite reject it, but I wouldn’t accept it. If you fall into this line of thinking, then please know I was there along with plenty of others and understand your cynicism.
I am also here to tell you it is worth another look. Even if your motivation is to just break a generational chain of pain and anguish, this message is worth another look. There are many reasons to look at Jesus Christ and the message of salvation – the livelihood and freedom of your children and grandchildren are most likely near the top of the list and excellent incentive.
I stated this three times already in this series: Whether your children are planned, newborn, or with children of their own, this is applicable to you. It is never too early and it is not too late, at least not yet, to anchor your children and your family. Even if you have been inoculated to the message or are already a believer, I invite you to pray with me.
Just read the prayer, say it to yourself, or say it verbally: “Lord Jesus, I may not understand all the concepts about generations and curses and blessings, and I may not understand all this stuff about sin, but I do understand freedom. I don’t want to be chained to sin and I don’t want my children to be chained to sin. I don’t want to be chained to a curse and I don’t want my children chained to a curse. I don’t want to be part of a generational curse and I don’t want to pass any generational curse to my children. Instead, I want freedom. Help me to understand what this means, for me and for my family. Lord, I have sinned; I ask You to forgive me, break the generational chain of sin in my life, and deliver me from the curse. I ask You to show me how to anchor my family so they may see a blessing instead of a curse in their lives. I ask this in Your name, Jesus. Amen”
The last part of this series should post on Wednesday of this week. Will you continue with me and see what steps you may do to firmly anchor your family?
Glenn Sasscer
Click here for Part 3 of 3.
www.glennsasscer.com
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