When Adolph Hitler first came to power in Germany, he was revered as a man filled with foresight who would benefit Germany’s financially destitute population. For a time he was that benefactor, instituting public works projects, one of which was the Autobahn, completing nearly 2400 miles by the start of WWII.
Benito Mussolini of Italy was held up as an example of a strong leader who would rescue his country from near-anarchy. He also instituted public works projects, giving the Italian people jobs and a focus for the future.
For a time, these men held the respect of the rest of the world. Then the nations began to see them as they really were. Even during the 1936 Olympics in Berlin, Hitler’s children (the Gestapo and the SS) were singling out Jews and marking them for future annihilation. Mussolini’s Black Shirt children were the Italian version of Hitler’s dreaded henchmen, and Mussolini was eventually shot and hung (after his death) by the Italian people for the cruelties he’d inflicted on them.
Both Hitler and Mussolini created their children, the Gestapo, the SS, and the Black Shirts in their own image. Deeds done by these men were done by their leaders, the men who’d fathered their intents, principles, and practices.
Hebrews 12:9 says:
“We have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them.”
Proverbs 20:11 says:
“Even a child makes himself known by his acts, by whether his conduct is pure and upright.
Isaiah 54:13 says:
“All your children shall be taught by the Lord, and great shall be the peace of your children.”
Hitler didn’t bring peace through his children. Neither did Mussolini. Rather, they brought war, death, and destruction.
2 Chronicles 33:1-2 tells of Manasseh, one of the worst of Israel’s kings.
“Manasseh was twelve years old when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty-five years in Jerusalem. And he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord...”
Manasseh was the son of Hezekiah, a man who walked after God, yet who in his old age allowed self-satisfaction to become more important than the welfare of his people. 2 Kings 20:19 tells Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah’s proclamation that his kingdom and his sons would one day be carried away to Babylon.
“Why not, if there will be peace and security in my days?”
Is it any wonder that Hezekiah’s son, born at the very end of his life, had the same attitude? He was the child of his father, and he behaved accordingly.
2 Chronicles 34:1-2 tells a completely different story of another ruler of Israel:
“Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned thirty-one years in Jerusalem. And he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord...”
Josiah began to “seek after the God of David” at age 15, and at age 25, he discovered a forgotten book, the Pentateuch, the Bible of his day. Josiah took on the attributes of his spiritual father, God, and the people of Judah and Israel drew back to the Lord.
The SS and Black Shirts of Germany and Italy inflicted atrocities upon the people around them. Manasseh was Israel’s worst king. Yet Josiah sought God, and he set an example of right living that changed his kingdom to follow in the pursuit of God.
Our question today is a simple one. Who is our father, and who will our children become? Now is the time to decide, for they will be the children of who we are.
When people see Christ in everything we do, they will emulate the ways of Christ in who they become.
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Code: FGO.L.21.15.vp.esv