We often talk about passing THE faith down to the next generation, by which we mean the content of our faith—our set of beliefs, our doctrines. This is very important so that the pure truth of the gospel and the Word keeps perpetuating for years to come. But I want us to consider, do we pass down faith, as in are we teaching the next generation to completely trust God with everything in their lives? And not just that, are we demonstrating in our own lives that we have that kind of faith?

 

There is a story about a famous tightrope walker who came to Niagara Falls and stretched his rope across the thunderous currents from Canada to the United States. Before the breathless multitudes, he walked, then ran, across the falls. He did the same blindfolded, with drums rolling. Then, still blindfolded, he pushed a wheel-barrow across the falls. The crowds went wild, and the aerialist shouted to them, “Who believes I can push a man in this wheelbarrow across these falls?” A gentleman in the front waved his hands, shouting, “I do! I believe!” “Then,” said the tightrope walker, “come and get in the wheelbarrow.” To no surprise, the man’s intellectual assent failed to translate into personal beliefs.

 

We say we have faith that God can do anything to us and through us, but do we really believe it? As the cliché goes, when the rubber meets the road do we trust God and have confidence in what He has said. I want to close this post with the story of a woman who pursued Jesus by faith until she received what she needed, and I am pretty sure she passed her story down to the future generations so that they too would trust Christ completely.

 

And Jesus went away from there and withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.  And behold, a Canaanite woman from that region came out and was crying, “Have mercy on me, O Lord, Son of David; my daughter is severely oppressed by a demon.” But he did not answer her a word. And his disciples came and begged him, saying, “Send her away, for she is crying out after us.” He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.” But she came and knelt before him, saying, “Lord, help me.” And he answered, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and throw it to the dogs.” She said, “Yes, Lord, yet even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their masters’ table.” Then Jesus answered her, “O woman, great is your faith! Be it done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed instantly. (Matthew 15:21–28 ESV)