January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Lessons of history need to be heeded
Today, I pause to encourage you to remember where you have come from. All races and all classes of people should remember the work of our forefathers and foremothers who walked, as it were, a stony pathway, so that this generation could walk on a paved pathway.
Joshua 4:5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the LORD your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
As you look at Joshua chapter 4, understand that God believes in recording the story of those who have gone on, so that those who are and who are to come will know exactly where they have come from.
Indeed, if you do not know your history you run the danger of repeating it. Bermuda, it is so important to know your history so that the mistakes of the past do not permeate the future.
Joshua was the leader of God's people who were preparing to cross over into their new home. Naturally, there was a huge roadblock to the people getting what was theirs - an overflowing river called the Jordan.
Their obstacle became an observation and an object lesson taught by God, as He caused the waters to divide and then created a pathway, in the midst of the waters, for His people.
Bermuda, what was meant to hinder and even drown those weary travellers had to bow down to the voice of God. That makes sense, since God is the Almighty Creator, and both heaven and earth are under His command.
Once the people crossed over, God instructed Joshua to have a representative of each tribe or family go back into the midst of Jordan and get a stone.
That is so wonderful! Once again, God was teaching that the testimony of victory and the testimony of conquering was a testimony for everyone. God is all for unity!
That stony story was going to be for each family and each family would be able to tell the story to their children in time to come.
Bermuda, what would happen if you told your children your stony story while they were young?
Bermuda, what would happen if your children knew about the struggles of days gone by?
What if the children really knew what their ancestors experienced?
Perhaps, just perhaps, the children of Bermuda would appreciate the struggles of their elders and respect them even more.
God told Joshua that when the children looked at the stones, they would ask about their meaning, which would provide an opportunity for the parents and grandparents to tell the children about God.
The parents would be obligated to give God praise as they told the story of how they made it through bondage, through the wilderness, through the Jordan River, and into the Promised Land.
It is only when you appreciate how you received what you have, that you take care to handle what you have.
Bermuda has far too many wonderful testimonies to allow them to fall silently as the years go by.
No! Parents, tell the story. For when children truly get the stony story, they begin to build their own story on the bedrock of your story.
No story, means no appreciation for where you are today. Tell the story and allow the next generation to pass on the story, refusing to let go of the legacy produced from their story.
Bermuda, do not build a new foundation on stories of murder, gang warfare, and hopelessness.
No, Bermuda. Let us reintroduce the existing reality of the story of the love of God, how our fore-parents spoke of the wonders of God, and how you should be thankful that God still watches over everyone. Respice finem.
Dr. Maria A. Seaman is the Pastor of Shekinah Worship Centre, located at 98 North Shore Road, Hamilton Parish CR 05.[[In-content Ad]]
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