Go Beyond

   Amistad is one of my favorite movies. It’s the compelling story of mutiny onboard a slave ship traveling from Cuba toward the Northeast Coast of America in 1839. As the ship is sailing to the United States, a slave named Cinque leads a mutiny and wrestles away control of the ship from their captors. However, when the ship reaches the United States, all of the slaves are imprisoned. To complicate matters, none of the slaves can speak English, making it impossible for them to tell their story. The slaves seem doomed to die for killing their captors until an abolitionist lawyer agrees to represent them. Their case eventually reaches the Supreme Court where John Quincy Adams, played by Anthony Hopkins, agrees to represent Cinque and the slaves. In one of my favorite scenes, Adams explains to Cinque that the case will be difficult to argue. At that point Cinque responds, “I will call unto the past and beg my ancestors to come and help me, for at this moment I am the whole reason they have existed at all.”

   We don’t think or talk much about our ancestors — those from whom we are descended. Yet, as Cinque points out, were it not for them we would not be here. The Bible talks a lot about the generations. And while we are never told to worship our ancestors or to beg them to come to our aid, there is a sense in which one generation can come to the aid of another. There is no doubt that one day our children and our children’s children will find themselves in difficult situations, just like Cinque. And, they will need help. It’s sobering to consider that what we teach our children about God today will make a difference in how they handle their difficulties tomorrow.

   Psalm 78 points out that fathers have a responsibility to equip the next generation to “put their confidence in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments” (Ps. 78:7). These lessons are important and will make a difference in the lives of our children, our children’s children, and those who will be born long after we have joined our ancestors. We must also teach our children about the things that are important to God, issues like justice and the welfare of the least of these. One of my favorite songs, written by singer Christy Nockels, is entitled “By Our Love.” One of the verses of the songs says, “Children, you are hope for justice, stand firm in the Truth now, set your hearts above. You will be reaching, long after we’re gone, and they will know you by your love!” If we teach our children about justice today, then it’s possible that our children and their children will come to the aid of those who will be oppressed in the generations to come.

   I am convinced that what we teach the present generation matters. At some point in the future one of our descendants, like Cinque, will be in a tough spot and in need of help. Or one of our descendants, like the character played by Anthony Hopkins, will encounter someone in need of help. We can come to their aid by investing wisely in the present generation. My prayer is that those who come after me will look back and thank God for my faithfulness. The day is coming when I will join my ancestors, but I pray that my influence will continue to touch the future through those in whom I have invested.