BY DAWN REED

When I read true stories of people in the Bible who turn from the Lord, my stomach clenches. I know what is coming. “Don’t do it!” I want to yell. But their story has already been written. I only have to turn the page to see what happened.

Second Chronicles 28 and 2 Kings 16 record the tragic saga of King Ahaz. Though a descendant of David, Ahaz did not follow in his father David’s footsteps. He did not do what was right in the eyes of the LORD. Instead, he worshiped idols, sacrificed his children and did detestable things. He and his people paid the price for his sin. When the time of trouble came, King Ahaz became even more unfaithful to the Lord. Finally, he died.

But. I love that word. But Ahaz had a son whose name was Hezekiah. Hezekiah was 25 years old when he became king. Wonderful words are written about him: “Hezekiah trusted in the Lord, the God of Israel. There was no one like him among all the kings of Judah, either before him or after him.He held fast to the Lord and did not stop following him,” (2 Kings 18:5-6). He did what was right in the LORD’s eyes, just as his father David had done. David was not his actual “father,” but his great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandfather, if I got that right. Hezekiah was following in his ancestor David’s footsteps.

I am blessed to have ancestors who walked with the Lord. I have a miniature book (3” x 2”) titled Daily Food for Christians. It belonged to my great-grandfather, Reece Moneyhun, whom I never met. The tiny book holds a Bible verse for every day of the year. Inside the front, he wrote his name and the date: Aug. 31, 1915. I was told he carried it in his shirt pocket every day when he went to work in the coal mines.

My great-grandmother, Edith Loftis, faithfully attended McVeigh Baptist Church beginning in the early 1920s. I believe she was one of the charter members. In the 1940s, she started taking my mother to church when she was a little girl. In 1948, my mother gave her heart to Jesus. And she meant it.

When she was grown, married and a mother, she took me to church. In 1971, I gave my heart to Jesus. And I meant it, too. When I was grown, married and a mother, I took my children to church, where they also came to know the Lord.

Over the years, I have had many godly role models who were not blood relation. By their example, they encouraged me to follow the God of heaven and earth.

If your parents didn’t walk with the Lord or in His ways, it doesn’t mean that you can’t. Like Hezekiah, you can find another ancestor as an example. Go back as far as you need to or begin your own legacy in your family. You be the one who follows God.

In this day and time, we are all influencers, whether we are on TikTok or not. Someone is watching us, following in our footsteps. Where are we leading them?

Let us hold fast and not stop following God, like David, like Hezekiah, like Reece, like Edith, like my mom.