The Generation of the Righteous!
God is in the business of the righteous because their faith always grows stronger and better to lay a good foundation for the next generation. Though in subjective terms, the generation of individuals supposed to be the duration of their lifetime. However, the generation of the righteous will not only be the duration of their life but eternal because God is involved in their life. The generation of the righteous is always eternal because God creates it.
I read a story written by Larry Ballard, and it was about how he had a picture of two men in the title called MULTI-GENERATIONAL LEGACIES. The stories involved JONATHAN EDWARDS and MAX JUKES, and they were both fascinating.
The first one was about Jonathan Edwards, a Puritan Preacher in the 1700s. He was one of the most respected preachers in his day. He attended Yale at the age of thirteen and later went on to become the president of Princeton college. He married his wife Sara in 1727, and they were blessed with eleven children. Every night when Mr. Edwards was home, he would spend an hour conversing with his family and then praying a blessing over each child. Jonathan and his wife Sarah passed on a great, godly legacy to their eleven children.
An American educator, A.E. Winship, decided to trace the descendants of Jonathan Edwards almost 150 years after his death. His findings are remarkable, especially when compared to another man from the same period known as Max Jukes.
Jonathan Edwards’ legacy includes: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 1 Dean of a law school, 1 dean of a medical school, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 60 doctors, 65 professors, 75 Military officers, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers, 100 clergymen, and 285 college graduates.
How may this be explained? Edwards was a righteous man, but he was also hard-working, intelligent, and moral. Furthermore, Winship states, “Much of the capacity and talent, intensity and character of the more than 1,400 of Edwards’ family is due to Mrs. Edwards.”
Max Jukes’ legacy came to people’s attention when the family trees of 42 different men in the New York prison system were traced back to him. He lived in New York at about the same period as Edwards. The Jukes family originally was studied by sociologist Richard L. Dugdale in 1877.
Jukes’ descendants included: 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 190 prostitutes, 150 other convicts, 310 paupers, and 440 who were physically wrecked by addiction to alcohol. Of the 1,200 descendants that were studied, 300 died prematurely.
In this story, the benefit of righteous people is not only for the individual but also for generation after generation. I believe that we all have a choice to make when it comes to our own lives. If we choose the path of righteousness, then there will be a lot of good things happening around us. However, if we choose the path of evil and sin, then the consequences are far worse than what we can imagine. The moral lessons learned from these events can be applied to any situation.
The Bible said, “Those the LORD blesses will possess the land, but those he curses will die. The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives. Though they stumble, they will never fall, for the LORD holds them by the hand. Once I was young, and now I am old. I have never seen the godly abandoned or their children begging for bread.” Psalm 37:22-25.
Prayer:
1. Lord, I thank you for your steadfast love and mercy. You are my strength, my shield against all enemies; you are my salvation, and I cannot do anything without you.
2. Dear God, help me to understand this message and how it applies to my life. I know that you are with me through all of this, and I want to know you more.
3. In the name of Jesus, I nullified every generational curse I had ever experienced or yet to experience by the precious blood of Jesus. I am saved from a generational curse by the blood of Jesus Christ, who is my savior.
