The Three Generation Principle
3 generation principle
It begins in Genesis 19-35 with the story of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. There you find the story of Abraham’s conversion, Isaac’s blessings as a result of being raised in the home of Abraham, and Jacob’s deception of Isaac and his subsequent conversion at Bethel.
The next time you find the principle of The Three Generations is in Judges 2:7-10.
There was a generation (1st Generation) that saw and experienced the move of God.
Then there was a generation (2nd Generation) that saw the move of God but never experienced the move of God.
Then there was a generation (3rd Generation) that neither saw nor experienced the move of God.
- The first generation knew the Lord of the work.
- The second generation knew the work of the Lord.
- The third generation knew neither the Lord of the work or the work of the Lord.
- The first generation were strong believers.
- The second generation were weak believers.
- The third generation are unbelievers.
Be sure you pass down your faith. Every generation needs to experience God for themselves.
"These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up (Deuteronomy 6:6-7, NIV). ... "[T]hat the next generation might know them, the children yet unborn, and arise and tell them to their children, so that they should set their hope in God and not forget the works of God, but keep his commandments; and that they should not be like their fathers, a stubborn and rebellious generation, a generation whose heart was not steadfast, whose spirit was not faithful to God (Psalms 78:6-8, ESV).
Put A Pebble In Their Shoe
It's happens to all of us. We're walking along and suddenly become aware of a nagging little bump beneath the sole of our foot. Perhaps we're in a hurry and don't want to take the time to address it, so we try to ignore it. We're just too busy; it's not worth the effort.
Or perhaps we're not in an appropriate place or position to stop and remove our shoe to address the discomfort, so, again, we try to ignore it. We keep walking, trying to convince ourselves that it's fine, this is fine, no big deal.
But sure enough, there comes a time when we just can't ignore it any longer ... the shoe, and maybe even the sock or stocking, needs to come off so we can shake out the tiny pebble which made itself at home just beneath soft, tender pad of our foot.
Many (if not most) evangelical Christians get so nervous about witnessing to others. We fret not having all the answers, or feeling inadequate in presenting the "whole" of the Gospel message. So we shrink back and say nothing. But does this dichotomy of choices really exist? Or is there something in between?
Christian author, Greg Koukl, speaking to The Gospel Coalition, had this to say:
A wise ambassador ... weighs his opportunities and adopts an appropriate strategy for each occasion. ... Now here is my own more modest goal. I want to put a [pebble] in his shoe. All I want to do is give him something worth thinking about. I want him to hobble away on a nugget of truth he can’t simply ignore because it continues to poke at him.
Effective witness doesn't have to include a full, five point Gospel presentation. Sometimes all that's necessary is a little "nugget of truth" that nags at the unbeliever's conscience or phyche, until they simply cannot ignore it any longer. They have no choice but to "deal" with it, giving it greater consideration.
What they do with that nugget isn't our responsibility. It's entirely on them now. Will they simply remove it and toss it aside? Will they take it out and ponder how it got in there? Will it cause them to pause and consider further truth?
Remember, next time you feel intimiated to "present the Gospel" to an unbelieving relative, friend, or even stranger ... you don't have to drop a boulder on their head. You just need to drop a pebble in their shoe.
Matthew 13: 3-9 (NIV):
A farmer went out to sow his seed. 4 As he was scattering the seed, some fell along the path, and the birds came and ate it up. 5 Some fell on rocky places, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly, because the soil was shallow. 6 But when the sun came up, the plants were scorched, and they withered because they had no root. 7 Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the plants. 8 Still other seed fell on good soil, where it produced a crop—a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown. 9 Whoever has ears, let them hear.
Reflecting the Light - It All Comes Down to Proximity
The Moon does not make its own light. Moonlight is actually reflected sunlight. We always see the same face of the Moon from Earth - the “lunar nearside.” Each month, as day and night sweep across the lunar nearside, the sunlit part of our view takes on a series of familiar shapes: crescent, half-moon, full, and more.
According to NASA:
Overall, only about one-tenth of the sunlight that hits the Moon is reflected back into space. This ration of reflected light is called albedo. For comparison, our watery planet bounces about three-tenths of incoming rays back into space. Venus has an even higher albedo than Earth, reflecting half of the sunlight that reaches it. Yet, the Moon outshines Venus in our sky.
Why? It is all comes down to proximity. The Moon is far closer to us than Venus so the Moonlight - the reflection of the Sun’s light - appears brilliant to us.
John the Witness, via his devotion to Jesus, was able to show the way to the Light because of his proximity both to the Light and to those to whom he witnessed. Our proximity to the Light and others affords us the same opportunity to likewise direct others to Light of Jesus.
Jesus is the Light (uppercase "L"). Jesus' disciples (us!) are the light (lowercase "l") called to reflect the Son. As we draw closer to Him, and then and draw closer to those to whom we would share that Light, we are able to do just that. His Light will shine brilliantly to all those who are in darkness.
It all comes down to proximity.
"He [John] was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light" (John 1:8).