PASS ON THE THIRST
Psalms 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?
One of my earliest outdoor childhood memories was walking with my dad on a beautiful fall afternoon. My mom had dropped us off at a farm 3 miles from camp and my dad, my brother Dave and I walked back to camp. It was a long walk but it made for a great memory of following in my fathers footsteps.
From a very young age my dad taught me the things of the woods that have stayed with me all my life. Things like how to place my foot so I wouldn't snap twigs. How to read deer sign. Where to find squirrels, grouse and other small game in the fall. How to paddle a canoe... Without tipping it over.
My dad taught me a lot of great stuff that has shaped me as an outdoorsman. When I was little I believed he knew everything and that he was perfect. Latter in life I learned that both thoughts were not true. But considering where he had come from and how he was raised by his father, he did pretty well.
One of the best things that he instilled in me was a love for God. He set an example for me in reading the Word and being in God's house on Sunday. He taught me to have a "thirst" for God. Again he wasn't perfect, but he wanted to set an example of what God wanted for me. He wanted me to have a desire for God like I did for the woods. Like the deer that pants for water in Psalms 42:1, he wanted me to thirst for God.
We have a responsibility to pass on a thirst for God. If we believe that there is a God, then we need to teach the truth of what His Word says. It seems that each generation moves further and further away from this truth. We can't allow that to happen!
There's an old saying that goes, "hunting isn't a matter of life and death, it's much more important than that". Well a relationship with God and salvation is far more important than that. It's a matter of ETERNAL life and death. We need to instill in our children and grandchildren this urgency for God and His love.
In Psalm 63:1-2 it goes back to our thirst saying, "O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water. 2 I have seen you in your sanctuary and gazed upon your power and glory."
I really like the part here that it says "my whole body longs for you". As an addict searching for drugs, our body should long for God, we should long to have his presence and long for his touch.
This is the passion that we HAVE TO BE passing on. If we allow it to skip one generation we've failed all future generations... Don't let that happen. Pass on the thirst.
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