BROADCASTS.com

\u201cAfter that whole generation had been gathered to their fathers, another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.\u201d\xa0 - Judges 2:10

When I was young, I loved to hear my dad\u2019s stories about his youth in the Netherlands. Stories about playing soccer as a teen, selling milk door to door, emigrating to Canada as a young man.\xa0 Great stories that I remember to this day.

However, he also was a young teen during the Second World War and never talked about those years. I had no idea what he had experienced. After many years, he finally told me and most of it was unpleasant, some of it frightening.\xa0 Had he not told me his wartime stories, I wouldn\u2019t have ever known or understood what it was like to be a young teen living in a war zone. Without his stories, I couldn\u2019t connect the dots of his life as my father to what life was like for him as a youngster. Sharing all of his stories, my dad provided a backdrop for me to understand who he is.

In Judges 2, after 40 years of wandering in the desert, the Israelites have settled into the Promised Land, claimed their inheritance, continued to serve the Lord (2:6,7).\xa0 However, the next generation, those born in the Promised Land, \u201cknew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel\u201d (2:10b). They did \u201cevil in the eyes of the Lord\u201d (2:11-13).\xa0

How did this happen so quickly after arriving in the Promised Land? Because fathers did not tell the stories of what the Lord had done for them and their descendants. In the absence of a good story, people will grab any story. If that\u2019s true, then it\u2019s very important to tell the best story we can, starting with THE story \u2013 God\u2019s story. Connecting the stories of our lives with God\u2019s grace, mercy, and provision.

What God story do you have that you can share with someone?