"Losing My Father's Faith" July 3 Readings: 2 Chronicles 23-24, Acts 7:19–40, Psalm 78:47–53, Proverbs 16:20–21

Today's Readings - 2 Chronicles 23-24, Acts 7:19–40, Psalm 78:47–53, Proverbs 16:20–21

Devotional - Losing My Father's Faith 

I faced something of a spiritual crisis as I entered adulthood. I was raised by Christian parents; my dad was a Bible-preaching pastor who gave me a grounding in the Word that many people never get. I trusted Christ as a child but as I graduated high school and was ready to leave to go out on my own, I faced a challenge.

My faith was more my father's faith than my own.

I knew Jesus and I think I was saved, but in many ways, I lived to please my dad and to do what he expected of me. But I had to come to the point where I was not serving my father's God, but where I was serving the God I loved.

I don't have the time, the space, nor do I imagine you have the interest, for me to recount the entire process of me coming to hold my own faith, not just my father's, but it was a turning point in my life. We talk about children abandoning the faith or "losing their faith" in college. But in reality, I think that many children never develop anything more than an appreciation for their parent's faith and when they get out on their own it is not real to them. They are actually losing their parents' faith, one that never became real to them.

King Joash's father was dead, but he had a wise paternal figure, a mentor named Jehoiada. Jehoiada protected him from his evil grandmother who was attempting to kill the entire royal family so that she could usurp the throne for herself. Joash, as a baby, was taken into protective custody until he was seven years old. Then Jehoiada did away with the idolatrous usurper Athaliah and put Joash on the throne. And as long as Jehoiada lived, Joash was a faithful servant of Yahweh, a good king. 2 Chronicles 24:2 makes this point.

And Joash did what was right in the eyes of the Lord all the days of Jehoiada the priest.

But eventually, Jehoiada's life was over and Joash was left on his own. Unfortunately, the faith he practiced had never become his own. He respected his mentor and followed his ways, but when the mentor was gone, the faith dissipated. Look at verses 17-19.

Now after the death of Jehoiada the princes of Judah came and paid homage to the king. Then the king listened to them. 18 And they abandoned the house of the Lord, the God of their fathers, and served the Asherim and the idols. And wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this guilt of theirs. 19 Yet he sent prophets among them to bring them back to the Lord. These testified against them, but they would not pay attention.

Powerful men came and led Joash astray. He never developed an independent faith, a faith that was his. He lived by the convictions of other people and that was not enough. It is never enough to walk with someone who walks with God. A relationship with God is never secondhand.

Great suffering and pain came to Judah as a judgment on Joash's sin. They were defeated by an inferior army because of God's judgment. Joash himself died.

I am grateful for the faith of my parents, for the home I was raised in. We tried to provide a Christian home for our children. But it was not enough for me to experience the faith of my parents; it had to become my faith, my commitment. It is not enough for my children to respect my faith. God must be their God as well.

There is no such thing as secondhand faith. You cannot prosper spiritually on someone else's walk with God. Each of us must come to God through Jesus Christ on our own and experience the life of Christ personally and individually.

Father, I thank you that you brought me to faith - not just my dad's faith, but mine!

Think and Pray

Which of the readings spoke most powerfully to you today?
Is the Spirit of God moving you to repent of something you are doing, to begin something new, or to change something about your life as a result of your readings? What?

Are you confident that the faith you profess is yours, not just that of your family, your culture?
As you raise children, make sure that they come personally to faith in Christ.