You Were Made for More: The Life You Have, the Life God Wants You to Have by Jim Cymbala

Author:Jim Cymbala
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Zondervan
Published: 2008-08-19T00:00:00+00:00

Ripple Effect

Bonite's work is bound to bear fruit in the lives of future generations even after she goes to heaven. Who knows what future leaders in the country of Haiti may grow up coming through her food line? When your devotion to the Lord is strong and true—when your faith hangs on, no matter what—the blessing is felt not only in your own circumstance but also in the lives of those to come.

God had promised to Caleb a homestead not only for himself but also for “your children forever” (Josh. 14:9). In fact, the next chapter (Josh. 15) gives some detail about how Caleb transferred some land with a set of springs to his daughter and son-in-law. This water source was part of the overflow of God's blessing upon Caleb.

The more we trust God and follow his assignment for our lives, the more our children and grandchildren will be blessed. Both Carol and I had parents and grandparents who trusted God no matter what. One of my grandmothers, for example, was born in Poland. She met my grandfather in a poor mining town in Pennsylvania and married him there. They came from a strongly traditional religious background, but after they experienced the living Jesus, they began to attend vibrant home meetings. As a result, they were ridiculed in a variety of ways, including garbage being thrown onto their yard. But they remained faithful to God.

They raised a daughter who shared their radical faith—my mother. She held strong even when my father became an alcoholic and lost his job because of it. He was often violent. Relatives advised my mother just to leave him. But she chose, because of her dogged faith in God, to stay and believe for a divine turnaround. That is exactly what happened after twenty-one years of drinking. For the last dozen years of his life, my dad was entirely sober. My mother, now ninety-three years old, has proved that God never disappoints those who wait faithfully for him.

Carol's maternal grandmother lived on a Wisconsin dairy farm with a husband who also drank a great deal and opposed the things of God. Some winter weeknights she would go to church and return home only to find herself locked out in the cold. But she never wavered. And her descendants, including Carol, have been inspired to steadfastness by her example of faith.

Many Christians, of course, do not have such a godly heritage. Some are the first in their families ever to trust Christ. They have the privilege of starting a new ripple effect of blessing that will affect future generations.

When you stop to think about it, you realize that the early Christians in the first century were in uncharted territory when it came to standing strong for Christ. This was a new day altogether in God's plan for the earth. They were rejected by the religious leaders of their time because they preached that the long-awaited Messiah had come. Their activities were considered illegal by some of the governing authorities.

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