Telling Your God Stories

We were introduced yesterday to Lamech who, like his great, great grandfather, Cain, was an unrepentant murderer. Cain’s heritage to his children and their children was likely a twisted version of his own history that led his descendants to believe that their evil actions could be justified.

Genesis 5 introduces us to another Lamech. This one was a descendant of Seth, the son God gave to Adam and Eve after the death of Abel and the exile of Cain.

Lamech’s father was a godly man. It was said of Enoch that he “…walked with God, then he was no more, because God took him away.” (Genesis 5:24, NIV). It appears that Enoch passed on some of that heritage to his son. Lamech became the father of Noah. Names meant something in the ancient past, denoting expectations and describing characteristics of a particular child. Noah’s name sounds like the Hebrew word for “comfort” and his father, Lamech, pronounced these prophetic words on this son: “He will comfort us in the labor and painful toil of our hands caused by the ground the Lord has cursed.” (Genesis 5:29, NIV)

Two men with the same name but with very different heritages: one who could justify murder, and the other who could pronounce a benediction on his son.

Storytelling was once the principle means of passing on information. It became the heart of preserving heritage and belief systems. The story, the history, was passed from father to son down through the generations. In some parts of the world today it is still the best way to reach people with the Gospel. These two Lamechs were influenced by the stories they were told about God passed down by their forefathers. How the story was told affected whether its impact was negative or positive.

Do you pass on the God stories of your life to your children and grandchildren? Only you can give your story that touch of personal family history and heritage. How do you tell those stories?  Does God have a “good reputation” in your stories? Do you make opportunities to tell HIS-story to your children and grandchildren rather than leaving that privilege in the hands of others?

Who tells the story and how it is told can have an eternal impact. Ask the Lamechs.