SUMMER PSALMS | FOR GENERATIONS
As I stood on Cliff Walk along the Atlantic's Easton Bay hidden at the edge of Newport, Rhode Island, waves crashed in rhythm with the sea breeze. We followed the path high above the waves around a bend to see the historic Breakers mansion command a (very large!) piece of oceanfront view. Generation after generation have taken in these views.
Built by the Vanderbilt family between 1893 and 1895, these coastal weathered walls could tell more than a few stories. A lot has changed since those days — many generations have come and gone, and the mansion has become a flagship museum. But the view — yes the view! Looking straight out toward the horizon where sky meets sea, the beauty of God’s creation remains. His Word is the same.
Like waves ever rolling and breaking on the cliffs below, the Lord’s faithfulness continually flows from one generation to the next. But unlike these waves, we don’t depend on the moon or the weather. His faithfulness is steadfast, His Word is fastened to eternity. The conditions around us don’t sway His promises. Past earthly generations also don’t have the last say in His faithfulness to us. Because of Jesus, we are adopted into God’s family — our true inheritance comes from resurrection life in Him!
“This resurrection life you received from God is not a timid, grave-tending life. It’s adventurously expectant, greeting God with a childlike “What’s next, Papa?” God’s Spirit touches our spirits and confirms who we really are. We know who He is, and we know who we are: Father and children. And we know we are going to get what’s coming to us — an unbelievable inheritance! We go through exactly what Christ goes through. If we go through the hard times with Him, then we’re certainly going to go through the good times with Him!” Romans 8:15-17 MSG
The greatest gift we may pass along to our children and to others is the unchanging, never-ending Word of God. Nothing else on this side of heaven — not even the most incredible of mansions nestled along the sea — truly, eternally, satisfies. And what an adventurous life we follow with the Lord in the lead, like a lifetime living along the sea, eager and expectant for what comes next with every wave. May we live as children of God, embracing our inheritance in Him. May it be so.