This is the day that the LORD hath made;

We will rejoice and be glad in it.

Psalms 118:24, KJV

 

Why do you do what you do? Each of us has to answer that question for ourselves, but I can give you a big reason for what motivates me at the age of 64: my grandchildren!

 

Now, I have to admit that there are days in which I am tempted to sell them to the highest bidder. Take my second and third grandchildren as an example. Maycee is our seven-year-old granddaughter and Dylan is our six-year-old grandson. One day as they were leaving to go back home with their parents, they came running up to me with a mischievous grin on their faces. One of them. with great impertinence, said, "Pops, you look like a girl", to which the other one said with equal impertinence, "An ugly girl!"

 

I don't know where they get such a sick and twisted sense of humor, but I suspect it is poor training at home.

 

Anyway, I digress. On most days (okay, all days) I would defend these grandkids of mine with my life. Carolyn and I currently have seven of them, with another due around the 4th of July. We can only imagine what this firecracker baby will be like, but if anything like the other seven, he or she will be a dandy. And because they are dandies, and because we have a deep love for our three kids and their spouses, we want to leave this world in as good of shape as we possibly can for them.

 

This, in large part, is why Carolyn and I do what we do. 

 

Both of us were given a marvelous world in which to grow. Our grandparents raised our parents during the great depression and WW II era. It was a challenging time back then, but all four sets of grandparents did what they could to raise our parents with a Christian foundation. Our parents raised us in the same way when it was their turn. Both Carolyn's and my parents had a bit easier time than our depression era grandparents, and they took full advantage of that. Our moms were of the stay-at-home generation, and we both benefited greatly from that blessing. We were raised with bedtime Bible stories, prayers of thanksgiving at mealtime (and we sat down together for every meal that we were together) and then we went to worship and Bible class with the church every time the doors were open.

 

Because of these great gifts, Carolyn and I did our best to duplicate such a raising to our kids, and our kids and their spouses are now doing even better in their attempt to do the same. I hope that this does not sound like boasting at this point, for that is not my intention at all. Each generation did what they did because they were blessed by God with the opportunity and the responsibility to do so! 

 

And this brings us back full circle to the question I began this with: Why do we do what we do? 

 

In my case, I speak and write a lot about the state of this world and the concerns that I have for it. I often mention things that need to be fixed - not because I think I am perfect and others are not, but because I realize that I am far from perfect but still have a duty to those I come in contact with. I know that this world is much different than the one I grew up in. Sin is much more accepted, and as a result, things have deteriorated. While it was safe for us to roam freely about our neighborhoods when we were kids, they are not now. While you could not curse or show anything suggestive on television because of society's standards when we were young, the standard now is for profanity and pornography - and that during prime time! Promiscuous behavior was frowned upon then, but exalted now - people seem to have no shame and few boundaries. 

 

These are the things which concern me because I know that my generation is largely responsible for this tattering of the fabric of our society. Since this is true, I feel a heavy obligation to do something about it. And I am reminded of that obligation every time I see the sweet innocence on the faces of my grandchildren. Like your grandchildren, they deserve better, and like you, I am determined to do something about it.

 

But what can we do against such seemingly overwhelming odds? That answer is amazingly simple when you think about it. This world didn't just "happen" into its current state of depravity. It was brought to this point by a people who ceased to put Christ first in their lives. This was compounded by the fact that we stopped telling others about the Good News of Jesus Christ, and because we stopped bringing this life changing Gospel to others, the world deteriorated. So, the solution is evident from the problem itself. We got away from God and as a result we ceased from helping others to draw near to Him.

 

The solution, then, is Jesus! The world will keep on deteriorating the longer we remain apart from He and God, so we must come back and then encourage others to do the same. It will be a long and painful process at times - any worthwhile change is - but we must do it all the same. God and Christ are worth the effort and so too are these little ones that we are leaving behind! So, if you want a noble quest to fill the remainder of your days then start focusing on how you and I can leave a better world for these precious, young lives. I want to stress, again, that it will not be easy. But, when you think about it, nothing truly worthwhile in life ever is... and our grandkids are worth that effort, wouldn't you agree?

 

But whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the sea.

Matthew 18:6, ESV

And if anyone gives any of these little ones even a cup of cold water because he is My disciple, truly, I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Matthew 10:42, ESV