Session 22

Is your faith your own?

From Jeremiah: A 33-Day Devotional

When we think of inheriting something, we usually think of money or land or property — things we can see and touch.

But we also have a tendency to inherit our parents’ habits and take credit for their achievements. If our parents worked hard and are God-fearing churchgoers, then we might feel a sense of pride for their hard work. We might consider ourselves godly or, at least, good people on the basis of our parents’ relationship to God. After a while, we realize we're going to church out of habit rather than in response to our own relationship with God. Our parents can lay a firm foundation for us, but it is ultimately up to us to pick up the tools and choose to build something.

In Jeremiah 22, we meet up with King Josiah’s son, King Jehoiakim. King Josiah was a godly king. He took his calling as the leader of God’s people seriously and he tried to pass down that wisdom to his son, Jehoiakim. King Jehoiakim was only interested in the material riches that came from being heir to the throne. He was unfaithful to God and had weak character despite having everything handed to him on a silver platter, including access to a firm foundation of wisdom to start building a relationship with God.

There comes a time when we must decide for ourselves whether to follow Jesus. No one can make that decision for us. Only when we do what is right and just before God can we be certain of building something truly worthwhile and everlasting (Jeremiah 22:13-17).

Reflect:

• As you think through your own walk with Christ, can you remember when a time when you made the decision to follow Jesus?
• Are you honoring that decision the best you can by putting Jesus first in your life?