Psalm 78:3-4 says:
What we have heard and known, what our fathers have told us; we will not hide them from our children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power and the wonders He has done.
How good am I at telling what God has done, or is doing, in my life and experience? Not as good, I think, as at telling what he did in Bible times. A little while ago, slightly tongue in cheek, I asked two well known Christian leaders what God was doing in their life at the moment. One stopped mid-stride, mouth literally hanging open, and said he couldn't remember the last time anyone asked. The other burst into tears and said they hadn't ben able to answer that question for at least 5 years.
I knew that God had done plenty in the person's life, so how come they didn't see it? I think it had to do with lack of looking for it, lack of rehearsing what God was doing, lack of telling the stories. Therefore they had normalised a lack of expectation and didn't see what God was at work. These people are fantastic at telling the Bible story but had neglected to value their own.
One of our church's founder members is now in her 90th year. A few months back I found her knitting a blanket for a mercy ministry at our church weekend away. She looked miserable and I asked why. Her answer was priceless: "because I am too old for much evangelism or church planting. Knitting blankets is one thing, but church planting is more fun."
I asked her to tell me some tales of God being at work. She did. Then she put her hand on my knee and said "I pray every day that the Lord will give you the godly gutsiness in Jesus that he gave us."
That's what I want from my 90 year olds!
Our church recently published a short book detailing the last 50 years to mark our golden anniversary. So many similar books are lists of irrelevant names and dates but not this one. It reads like an exciting adventure in mission, from the oldest to the youngest. Stories of what God is doing are faith-building. We are meant to tell them. However can any Christian get out of the habit when it should be the first thing on our lips, the commonest of currency between us?
Lets get back into the habit of telling the next generation the story of wonders God has done for us.