Have you every noticed that grandpas are almost always story-tellers? And have you ever noticed that Grandpas usually repeat the same stories over and over again? Every grandpa I know does this. I have never heard of a grandpa who did not repeat stories.
I got to thinking about that and I think I have figured out why. When we are young and our grandpas are old and they are telling their stories we are often waiting for them to quit because we are so busy and so important that we have to get on to all the vital issues of life like getting home to watch television. Because we are so busy and important we are often distracted and we don’t listen that closely.
But the Lord knows that a grandpa’s stories are the very stuff of life. They are virtues and values in street clothes. They are heritage and holiness. They are faith in shirtsleeves. They are challenges and reminders custom fit for our own future and our own families.
God knew this. That is why there are so many references in Scripture to what to do when your sons and son’s sons ask you questions. That is why so often in the Old Testament the people were instructed to erect memorials. Here are just a few examples of the what the bible has to say about the importance of a grandpa’s stories.
Give ear, O my people, to my law;
Incline your ears to the words of my mouth.
I will open my mouth in a parable;
I will utter dark sayings of old,
Which we have heard and known,
And our fathers have told us.
We will not hide them from their children,
Telling to the generation to come the praises of the Lord,
And His strength and His wonderful works that He has done.
For He established a testimony in Jacob,
And appointed a law in Israel,
Which He commanded our fathers,
That they should make them known to their children;
That the generation to come might know them,
The children who would be born,
That they may arise and declare them to their children,
That they may set their hope in God,
And not forget the works of God,
But keep His commandments;
(Psalm 78:1-7 NKJV)
One generation shall praise Your works to another,
And shall declare Your mighty acts.
(Psalm 145:4 NKJV)
Only take heed to yourself, and diligently keep yourself, lest you forget the things your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. And teach them to your children and your grandchildren,
(Deuteronomy 4:9 NKJV)
Tell your children about it,
Let your children tell their children,
And their children another generation.
(Joel 1:3 NKJV)
During his earthly life Jesus was a story-teller. Matthew 13:34 says Jesus never preached without telling stories. It was prophesied that Jesus would be a story-teller in Psalm 78.
So stories are more important than we realize. And to God a grandpa’s stories are a very important matter. Maybe that is why grandpas repeat the same stories over and over again, because God knew that we wouldn’t have the good sense to realize what a priceless heirloom those stories are until we were older and by then grandpa won’t be out on the porch telling stories any more.
If my grandpas were still living I would cancel everything and go visit them with a tape recorder and I would never say, “You already told me this one, Grandpa.” I would just figure this must be an important story because God has arranged for me to hear it over and over again. And I would listen close so I could repeat it to my grandchildren some day… over and over again.
Now also when I am old and grayheaded,
O God, do not forsake me,
Until I declare Your strength to this generation,
Your power to everyone who is to come.
(Psalm 71:18 NKJV)
