Genesis 11:31
"And Terah took Abram his son, and Lot the son of Haran his son's son, and Sarai his daughter in law, his son Abram's wife; and they went forth with them from Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan; and they came unto Haran, and dwelt there."
I have the privilege that many have not had in that I'm not a first generation Christian.
My parents were both Christians, and they reared me in a Christian home. In fact, I'm a sixth generation Baptist preacher. When I look at my heritage, I'm humbled that God would place me in this lineage. With this privilege, I have a great responsibility to carry on what was given to me.
Because of my heritage, I should be able to do more for Christ than every generation before me. It is not that I'm better than they are, it's just that they have given me a great heritage. I've learned from them, and because of this I should carry on and do more than they ever did in their lives.
One of the misnomers about Abram is that he was the first generation to leave his family to go to Canaan. The verse above shows us this is not true. Notice, it says Terah, Abram's father, took his son and family to leave "the Ur of the Chaldees, to go into the land of Canaan..." It was Terah's dream to become a great nation. It was Terah who saw the importance of leaving his homeland by faith to go to a land where God was going to make of them a great nation.
What is interesting is that after Terah died, God told Abram to leave Haran so that He could make a great nation out of him. It was important for Abram to understand that God could only bless him if he continued to go forward. Abram was literally carrying on the vision of his father. There are several things you need to see about Abram that caused God to bless him.
First, Abram carried on the faith of his father. When his father died, he didn't run from his father's faith, but he continued in it. It is important that every Christian continue in the faith of those before them. I find one of the biggest problems in Christians is that they want to change the faith of those before them instead of continuing in it. Don't try to change the faith, but carry it on. God will not use you greatly unless you carry on the vision of faith from those before you.
Second, Abram realized he couldn't live off his father's faith, but he must have faith himself. Abram was a man of faith because his father was a man of faith. You will never be a great Christian just because your parents were great Christians, or just because you go to a church filled with great Christians. Your Christianity is completely determined by what you do for Christ.
Third, Abram did not do less than his father, but he did more. If you're going to carry on the vision of those before you, then you need to determine to do more than they did. Stop thinking that the "good ole days" are gone and make the day in which you live the best days for Christ.
Are you carrying on the vision of those before you? This world is in desperate need of Christians like you to take on their responsibility of carrying on the vision of those before us. Don't settle for what you have. Don't accept the defeatist mentality that the best days are over. Take the vision that has been given to you, and like Abram carry it on and do more for Christ.