momuments of vision

I am the guest speaker tonight at a church that will be celebrating 20 years of successful ministry. Pastor Eustace Douglas started the Joy of Living Church in 1989. Their congregation is made up primarily of Jamaicans and it is an awesome church family. It should be fun!

I am talking tonight about how, upon crossing the Jordan River, Joshua directed the leaders to select 12 stones from the river to place on the other side as a reminder of all they had been through (Joshua 4). He said that one day, the children coming behind them would ask, "What do these stones mean?". The stones were to be a memorial to all that God had done for them, up to that point. But the purpose of the stones was not just to point back to history. It was also to encourage this new generation that, if God had been faithful to their parents, He would be faithful to them. They were not just a history lesson, they were also a vision lesson.

We have to be sure to provide balance for those who are coming behind us. It is necessary to be able to look back in celebration and look forward in anticipation. Respect for the past, excitement for the future.

What are the "monuments of vision" in your life? These are the things that remind you of all that God has done in your life, and all that you expect Him to do for others. You are going to need them. More important, those who will follow you will need them.