Houses and Tents

(Proverbs 14:11 KJV) The house of the wicked shall be overthrown:  bt the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish.

This verse is full of possible interpretations.  Literal or figurative?  Present or future?  But what hits me the most today is the promise of God that if we are faithful, or "upright" (3477) then our decedents will do much better than if we are unfaithful.  I am probably thinking this way because I am spending the week with my grown children and fitting into their lives for a few days.  Yesterday we spend the day at Patrick Henry College celebrating their tenth anniversary.  What a joy to be surrounded by people committed to the Lordship of Jesus Christ and seeing my children be part of that.  To God be the glory.

My grandfather died wth all of his children i spiritual rebellion.  He was one of those old holiness preachers that were case studies for the stereotype of being full of the Holy Spirit and vinegar.  He was the kind who would give his last dollar to a poor person and let his own kids go hungry.  My father was out working to support his brothers and sisters while still in high school.  All of the children turned away from the God my grandfather served.

But in the midst of his legalism he planted seeds.  Those seeds grew.  God's grace was active and powerful.  I have buried my father and two uncles and all went to glory as believers.  I still have an aunt and uncle who serve Jesus and at this point there is only one holdout.  Not bad for a legalist.  There must have been something of the upright in his "tent" (168).

This is part of walking by faith.  We may not live to see how our children and grandchildren turn out.  At times I am sure that we can despair.  We do the best we can.  We walk the walk.  The results are really between God and our children.

So?  Relax and trust.  Make sure your tent is being moved to the green pastures.  The sad part is that you may not live to see your children converted.  The glorious part is that the story continues after we go on to glory.