The Test of Time
Wednesday (December 10)
The Test of Time
Psalm 102:18
Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the LORD.
Just because we can’t see into the future doesn’t mean we shouldn’t earnestly build for it. Older generations understood this principle far better than younger ones, don’t they? Think back on the old days, where men built houses with brick and stone and oak, and even built barns and storage buildings from sturdy materials, because they wanted the structures to stand for generations. In fact, we own a small tract of land in the rural NC mountains that I camp out on from time to time, and just down the road from me is a 92-year-old man named Earl whose family has been in that area since the early 1900s, and he still has the remnants of a barn on his property that dates all the way back to the Civil War. Back then, if a man toiled to build a house, he didn’t cut costs so that he could flip it for a profit. He built it sturdy so that he could pass it down to his children and his children’s children in years to come.
That’s the sort of long-term vision we should admire in the author of Psalm 102:18, friend. Think of the selflessness of his motive. He isn’t taking the time to pen this Psalm for his own private pleasure, nor is he writing for an elite group of paid monthly subscribers. Far from it. He’s moved by the Spirit to leave an account of God’s works for those who’ll come long after he’s gone. He doesn’t know their names of his audience, and he knows they won’t be able to thank him for the effort, but he believes that Almighty God is worthy of the record.
That gets me thinking: what are we leaving behind for future generations as a memento of God’s provision over us? Perhaps it’s time to start writing down your testimony of faith so that your grandchildren can learn from the adventure of your life. Or maybe it’s time to pass down that special family recipe to your son or daughter and share a Scripture to go along with it. Let’s be visionaries for Christ, friend. Let’s lay a foundation today that the generations to come might build upon.