I was watching YouTube videos of the old TV program, I’ve Got a Secret. (You have to do something that’s fun in retirement.) One elderly gentleman’s secret was that as a little boy he had been present at the assassination of President Abraham Lincoln. He actually saw John Wilkes Booth jump from Lincoln’s box to the stage. Wow!

Connections of living memory have been important to Christianity also. The early Christian teacher Irenaeus (died around 202) mentioned that he had seen and heard Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, (born around 70, martyred 155) who had talked to people who had known Jesus. Going the other direction, all of us know people who passed on the faith to us. I can name my parents, aunt and uncle, Sunday school teachers, and pastors. I even know some of the people who shared their faith with them.

Our faith connections with the past are important, but so are our connections with the future. It is essential that we pass on the faith we have received to children and grandchildren and great grandchildren and young people we aren’t even related to. How will they learn of Jesus if we don’t tell them?

Take some time to think about people who shared their faith with you. Then think about who you will share your faith with. Then do it. Share your faith. You can never tell how many generations you will influence.

Read 2 Timothy 2:1-2, and remember: God loves YOU unconditionally.

Wayne