I am a grandfather. People tell me I look plenty old enough to be a grandfather. I’m not sure how to take that, but it sure doesn’t stop me from enjoying that role as much as anything in my life, past or present. My grandchildren call me Papa and I love it! Their enthusiasm when they see me and run up to me is well worth anything Olive and I went through to raise their parents. (slight smile) Which brings me to the subject of leaving a legacy…a godly legacy to be specific.
Now I understand it took Olive and I, both, to raise our children, but today I want to focus on the role of being a grandfather. Some guys may think that now that their job of fathering is basically over, it’s time for some “me time”, whatever that means. The truth is that our job as men, as fathers, and especially grandfathers, is not over until all the posterity we can influence is safely in God’s family. Yes, our grandchildren are partly our responsibility. Not in the same way, of course, as our children were, but in our unique role as “Papa’s, Grampy’s, Pepe’s” or whatever the moniker we inherit, we also inherit a tremendous opportunity to influence these little lives for Jesus!
As I look over the landscape of grandfathering in our country today, I realize that there are as many different family dynamics as there are grandfathers. Some men have the role of simply reinforcing the godly parenting efforts of their children. Others, maybe, have come to Christ later in life and their children have yet to come into the family of God so their grandparenting efforts are more evangelistic. You men have to walk the fine line of trying to influence your grandchildren for Christ in a way that does not appear to usurp your children’s parenting role.
For the next couple of weeks we are going to look at our role as grandfather and how we can influence our grandchildren for Christ no matter in what situation which we find ourselves. For now let me leave you with Psalm 71:18 “Even when I am old and gray, do not forsake me, oh God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come.”
Amen and Amen!