So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come. (Psalm 71:18, ESV)
Prosperity means many things. For most it indicates affluence based on a healthy bank statement. In both scripture and Winnie the Pooh, it can indicate "milk and honey." For the Christian, prosperity goes beyond one's calculated financial wealth. Prosperity for all Christians is made up of faithfulness to and trust in the Lord----regardless of their bank statement. Most of us know believers who have eked out , scratched by and suffered "lack" most of their lives, yet lived lives of utter fidelity to God. How prosperous are they!!
A "Prosperity Gospel" imagines the Lord as a "vending machine" God. This health and wealth gospel teaches that all one has to do is believe and receive, as they ask for God's blessings. The prosperity gospel is a half-truth, perhaps less.
Yes, God is good. God is faithful and God does bless His people, but God.....the one true God of the Bible is the God who will see us through regardless of the circumstances. Sometimes blessings are obvious and it is easy to thank Him. Other times when it seems times are so hard that one is not experiencing the blessing of God, one can still trust that God is there, just waiting for us to turn to Him, and learn that in loving Him we have life's deepest blessing.
Posterity, on the other hand, indicates a future generation of people. People who need to know the truth of God's faithfulness. Who will tell them? Who will pass on the prosperity that accompanies a life of true faithfulness to the Lord?
As Crickett teaches," God is more interested in our character than our comfort." Our faithful character will be our legacy for posterity.
If one wants to pass on prosperity for posterity, he/she needs more than a T-shirt to tell of God's truth. The whole truth will be told by their life.
Serve a cuppa of true prosperi-TEA for the posteri-TEA of the next generation.
