During their growing-up years, I was often amused at how my younger children wanted to emulate the older ones. As a tiny toddler, my youngest daughter regularly tromped through the house in her older brother’s cowboy boots that came up to her knees. My oldest daughter had the gift of talk, and her little sister would often stop eating at the dining room table, mesmerized by every word as the stories flowed. All my kids wanted to be pianists, just like their big sister—and every one of them stuck through lessons, recitals, and state theory exams for a dozen years. At many points in their lives, all of my children demonstrated a desire to follow in someone’s footsteps.
In this issue of Acts & Facts, we look at the impact of following in faithful footsteps—we return to our roots with an eye on the future. Though these words by ICR founder Dr. Henry M. Morris were penned years ago, their message is timeless: “What is learned and implemented in one generation would be useless if not transmitted to the next generation. That requires the vital ministry of teaching!” (See his article “The Vital Ministry of Teaching” on pages 18 and 19.) At ICR, we are sensitive to the needs of this generation of millennials, so many of whom are leaving the church and, ultimately, rejecting God’s Word. We are continuing the mission of our founder, working to equip you to teach others and lead them to truth.
Our CEO, Dr. Henry M. Morris III, emphasizes that God’s Word illumines God’s love, enabling us to follow His ways and to live confidently in a world that doesn’t always embrace Scripture. In “The Power of Love” (pages 5-7), Dr. Morris says:
Individuals seeking God’s character and instructions for a successful life…find their focus in a love for the Word of God. Our secular world is struggling to find love….In stark contrast, God’s love stimulates good works….God’s love produces confidence and even fearlessness and a growing maturity in our ability to understand and cope with life. And God’s love enables us to love others as He has loved us.
What better way to demonstrate love to the next generation than by sharing God’s truth—leaving footsteps worthy of being followed!
Henry M. Morris IV, following in his grandfather’s and father’s footsteps, speaks about his grandfather’s legacy in his stewardship article, “Don’t Give…Sow!” (page 21). He reminds us of the founder’s desire to glorify God through reaching out to others with God’s truth:
As a child, I was unaware of the many books he had written, the multitudes who had heard him speak, or even of the early formation of ICR. I simply knew that everywhere my grandfather went people would enthusiastically share testimonies about the impact he had made on their lives. Such outpourings of gratitude were genuinely uncomfortable for him. But with a gracious humility that characterized his life, he deflected all glory and praise to God….Eight years ago this month the Lord called my grandfather home to heaven. Since that time, God has faithfully supplied for ICR through His people—just as my grandfather believed.
Mr. Morris recently welcomed his first grandchild, Aubrie Grace, someone ICR’s founder never met on this earth—yet Dr. Henry Morris cared for his great-great-granddaughter even before she was born. He cared by living a life worthy of being followed and by establishing a ministry based on God’s love and truth, a ministry that would impact little Aubrie’s world for generations to come. When this child begins toddling—maybe even in an older child’s cowboy boots—hopefully she will encounter a world that has been changed for the better by those in previous generations who loved the Lord and faithfully followed in His footsteps.
* Jayme Durant is Executive Editor at the Institute for Creation Research.
