Page 39 - Dash to Heaven DRAFT

Generational Disconnect
Recently, I took a long, slow drive through many parts of “small town
America.” As I drove on winding country roads through neighborhoods
and onto “Main Street,” I couldn’t help but notice the small businesses
peppered along the way bearing obvious family names: “Johnson’s
Taxidermy” or “Benson Family Dentistry.” It occurred to me how these
businesses were most likely handed down from a previous generation,
and perhaps the one before that. These were trades and skills learned
from fathers and mothers, grandfathers and grandmothers. They were
spoken of at the dinner table, the core of schedules, appointments and
paid bills. They were infused into the foundation of that family’s life.
Knowledge and detailed aspects of family businesses were inherited.
In many instances, faith too is inherited. In order for faith to continue
through the generations, there must be a passing down of that faith,
similar to passing down a family business. When faith is inherited, the
knowledge of God, stories shared at the dinner table, values exemplified
in daily interactions, and Sundays spent together in church, are guided by
older family members. Inherited faith makes being a believer easy for
those who have had the threads of faith woven into the very fabric of their
lives from a young age. But, what about those who haven’t?
One study shows that more than 30% of non-believers
in a home without God. And many faithful followers fail to understand
how difficult it is for those without inherited faith to conform to a mindset
said they grew up
that has been ingrained early in the lives of others. For those of us (like
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