“When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.'” (Joshua 4:21-22 ESV).
After the miraculous crossing of the Jordan River, God instructed Joshua to have twelve men, one from each tribe, take a stone from the riverbed and set them up as a memorial at Gilgal. These stones were not just a monument for that generation but a testimony for future ones. God anticipated that their children would one day ask about the meaning of those stones, and He provided a story of deliverance for their parents to tell—a story of how God led His people through impossible waters into His promises.
We live in a fast-paced world today that quickly forgets what God has done. But God calls us to remember—and to help the next generation remember too. What “stones” have you set up in your life? What markers of God’s faithfulness, provision, or rescue can your children or others point to and ask, “What does this mean?” Whether it’s a journal entry, a verse framed on a wall, a photo, or even a specific tradition, we must be intentional about preserving testimonies of God’s work.
And the greatest memorial of all is the one Jesus gave us at the Last Supper: “Do this in remembrance of Me.” Just as the Israelites remembered God’s deliverance through the Jordan, we remember our greater deliverance through Christ’s death and resurrection. Every time we take the bread and cup, we proclaim the greatest rescue story of all time—that Jesus made a way through sin and death so we could walk in new life.
May our lives be filled with visible reminders of God’s power and grace. And when the moment comes and someone asks, “What do these stones mean?” let us be ready to tell them our story, which is God’s story in Christ Jesus.
PRAYER: Dear Father, thank You for the times You have brought us through deep waters and led us safely to the other side. Help us never to forget Your faithfulness. Help us to always remember. And strengthen us to tell the next generation of Christ’s love. In His name we pray, amen.