The death of a patriarch and generational sin... part 1

You shall not worship them or serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and the fourth generations of those who hate Me, but showing lovingkindness to thousands, to those who love Me and keep My commandments. (Exodus 20:5-6 NASB) 

Hi Beloveds, 

I've had the unfortunate pleasure of experiencing generational sin first hand. Truth be told, it's a beast I've battled my entire life.  I know I’m not alone in this.  As a matter of fact, I think everyone suffers the effects of generational sin in some fashion.  We all fall short of the glory of Christ, therefore the generations that follow must deal with the consequences. 

For a few reasons, this past Father's day was an extremely difficult for me.  One of those reasons was the recent passing of my grandfather.  I got a call one afternoon from my parents: "Grandpa's in the hospital. They don't think he has much time".  My paternal grandfather.  Over the previous two years, I'd received this call on a couple other occasions. There was something different about this time though, so I decided to make the almost five hour drive to go see him. 

We'd never been close, my grandfather and I.  To be bluntly honest, I harbored a great deal of hatred for the man.  He was an abusive and hard man who ruled his family by physical beatings, verbal degradation, and the spirit of fear.  We're not talking about the modern day definition of abuse, a little spank on the bottom.  We're talking about tossed down stairs, smashed into walls, black and blue with broken limbs abuse.  And that was just the physical. 

I'll never forget a story I was told about my father as a little boy...

My dad grew up on a farm and, as in most farm families, all the children helped with the work from a very young age.  If you know a single thing about little boys, you know they're naturally adventurous and easily distracted.  (A.D.D. my eye, but that's another discussion.) 

My father, as a boy, was no different.  One day, in the middle of doing his chores, he caught a chipmunk in a gunny sack to keep as a pet.  When my grandfather came upon him playing and not working he proceeded to take the sack and smash it against the concrete driveway.  When he was certain the animal was dead, he through the sack on the ground and told my father to get back to work. 

This is one of many stories that ultimately lead to my father developing into an emotionally broken and weak man.  It also had a direct impact on his wife, marriage, and children.  This story and others like it caused me to make a vow to God at age 12 that I would never physically touch my wife in anger in any way. 

For these reasons and many more, I had little love for my grandfather. 

So I get this call.  I make the trip to see him, all but certain he’s on his death bed and this time it’s for real.  I’m going to make peace.  I’m going for my family....