7/27/2019 1993 Issue 2 - His Story - God's Providence, The Family and History - Counsel of Chalcedon

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THE FAMILYAND ISTORY . .

.Bosron, s s c h ~ ~

~

same somehow. The people were

OnSeptember4,1862,ayoungman different. They didn't believe oract like

from Mobile, Alabama,

enlisted as a

theyusedro

in

the

old days. That'swhy

volunteer in

Murrell

's Independent Charles'fatherhadded.dedtocomeSouth

ea:valry (which would later

become

atthetumofthecenrnry. SaidtheSouth

Company

C,

Murphy's

Battalion

of the

was

more like the Old

country" used to

Alabama

Cavalry) in the anny of the be.

Confederate States of

America.

Charles

meant to fight

to derend his country in

the

war

against

his

formernation.

People

in the

Confederacy

called

it

the

War for

Southem

Independence.

ChaIres was

thlrty-two

years

of ag

e.

His

fatberhad been a

probate

judge in

Mobile

but he had died almost

sixteen

years previous

when

Charleswasfourteen

years old. He and the lWO other boys

(Maniluis

and Bushrod) had been both

providers and

fathers

for their

mother

and sister.

It wasn't

an

easy

decision

to

join up

with

the Confederate

army. But

it

was

right.

Charles

lmew

his father would

have appmved. His father came from

sturdy, OLD, New England stock. I

emphasize OLD New England, for that

pall of the country had changed a great

deal

since

the first few generations ofthe

family

had settled in Salem and later,

Enlistingwas

clearly

the rightthingto

do.

It

was exactly

what

his

grandfather

Josiah

(at

the age of

twenty-three)

had

done in 1775 when

the

British had

invaded.

It waS

the

family tradition to

fight for freedom

and merights

Godg:ive

to them, no matter the opponent. k

wasn'teasyto takeuparmsagainstfoimer

counuymen, but

if

hey were not

going

to

allow Southem

independence,

then

there was only one alternative. The time

had

come to fight ..

.

Whatyouhavejustreadisnotfiction.

It is the story of my great-great

grandfather onmy fathe

r's

side,

Charles

Ellis

Wilkins. His grandfather

(my

great-great-great-great

grandfather)

was

Josiah Wilkins who served in the

Continental Army

in the company of

Captain

Cyptian

How

duting the first

WarofIndependence.Josiah'sgreat-great

grandfather,

Bray Wilkins, came to

this

4 TIlE COUNSEL

of

ChaIcedon f February, March 1993

counny from Wales in 1628. He was a

member ofthe

second

company ofbrave

folk who sailed with Captain John

Endicott to the Massachusetts

Bay

Colony.

It is

a

blessed.

heritage anda story

that

my

childrenwillhear many tintes before

they leav

e home - and one I hope they

will pass on

to

their children for

many

years

to

come.

I only wish I knew more

about my mother's side of the family.

In the providence ofGod, my fathers

have had a role in

quite

a few of the

notable events in our country's history

(yes, even the Salem witch ttials ). But

my family is not at all unique. Your

family

may

well have had a greaterpanin

the events that have shaped our

nation.

Did they?

Do

you

lmow?

In recent

years

I have .been amazed

overhowdisinteresredmodem

Chtistians

~ ~ h t g e ~ ; g ; C a l ; t i \ i i e s

F a m i i y history

isoftenviewedas

the religious

obligation

of the Mormons; or as an amusement of

the

richandsn60

ry.

GeneliI.ogiailsrudy

is thought ofas the pastime of those with

more time

than they know what to

do

with ("Oh yes, myoId maid great-aunt

did

some work on our genealogy one

time ").

. Bill what, you say doesthis have

to

dowithblstory?

Muchirievetyway

The

neglect tlf

family

hlStoryhas contributed

in no little measure to the

ease with

whichhistoiians

have

distoned ourpast.

Consider:

k used

to

be that history was not the

sole

province ofprofi:ssional histotiaus.

Nearly everyone knew the truth about

what had happened in the past because

they

lmew their

family

histories.

"Great,

great

grandpa

was

there

and here's what

hedidandsaid. msuchadrcumstance,

it was ahnost impossible

for

men

to do

much to

distOlt

the historical

record.

Any

historian withrevolutionarydesigns

would have faced quite formidable

opposition

if he had ttied

to

monkey

with the

facts

. Too many people had

already

heard the truth and it was most

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7/27/2019 1993 Issue 2 - His Story - God's Providence, The Family and History - Counsel of Chalcedon

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difficult for a

WIiter

to

get away

with

lies.

But

it is not so today.

Today,

there are

high

school

stu

dents

who do

not

even know

their

grandparents,

much

less their

great-grandparents or

further

back. This

has contributed, in no little measure, to

the

ease

with which modem historians

have

been

able

to

re-WIite

our past.

When history becomes deper

sonalized,

men

lose

asense of

"property"

in the past. In losing bese first-hand

accounts from family

members,

this

is exactly

whatwehave

lost.

ltused

to be that people had a

"stake

" n history and felt

a responsibility

for

it.

Their

family's

reputation

and

accomplishments

were

important to pre

serve.

Many would be

upset

over any perceived

distortion. Today , be

causethereareso fewwho

knowtheirpasr., thismajor

check against

misrepre

sentation has been

removed.

Thosewho

still

Imow their past are made

to look

like kooks

and

fanatics

since

they are

so

few

in number.

One of the

goals

of our

humanistic

educational y ~ has been to divorce

us from thepast. Ithassucceeded. Ithas

done

so

by

1)

discrediting our

heritage

tbrough ridicule of

its theological

TOOts

2) by de-emphasizing the

family

and

making it irrelevant, and

3)

byempba

sizing be importance of the individual

and the present. AsaresuIt,mostpeople

are

utterly

unfamiJiar

with their

great

-great-grandparents and what

is

worse,

they

do

not care

to

know them.

Such

infonnationseemstrillingandworthless.

This is always

the case

in a

sOciety

where

God's covenant

is

despised.

To

most modems,

God's

covenant has

nothingtodowithhistoryortheirpresent

condition.

Historyhas become

irrelevant

andmeaningless

. 'Ip.eyseenoconnection

between their

existence

and those

who

preceded them. There is no

sense

of

continuity with the past and,

consequently, they feel no personal

responsibility for

it.

Thishas

been,

in part,

responsible for

the radical

rootlessness

that permeates

our generation.

Because

men

have

divorced themselves from their

families,

thereisno.9: nse ofcontinuity, belonging,

or purpose.

The

influence of

history

is

ignored and thus, it loses its importance

in he eyes of many. Thepresentisallthat

matters. The loss of

family

history has

greatly contributed to this.

Contrast this modem attitude with

the emphasis of Scripture.

Family

genealogies

play

an important

role

in

God's

Word and in

the history

of

God

's

people. Sometimes they stand

as

warningstomenoftheevilconsequences

of

mpenitence

andrebellion. Sometitues

theyencourageustoseeGod'sfaithfulness

in maintaining a

faithful

and

godly

generation in

the

earth. Because God

works

in

tenus of His covenant with

men,

families

and family lines

are

extremely significant.

Familyhistory used

tobea

reasure to

be passedonandentrustedtothe children

in order

to

teach them the powerful

lessons

of God's covenant

faithfulness.

It

was important for the children

to see

by

familial example tbat God honors those

that honorHim and brings

to

noughtall

who

rebel against Him. The "black

sheep' of be

family

were not

ignOl-ed

.

Both "black" and "white" sheep were

discussed

so

that the children would

learn the ways of God and

fear im

for His dealings

with their family. Theloss

of

family

history is a costly

loss.

Itmustbe recovered.

A Imowledge of our

family's historywill give to

usasense of God'smajestic

faithfulness through the

years.

It will impart

to

us

again

a proper sense of

"place"in the

small

portion

of time and space we

occupy here on earth. It

win restore to us be holy

pressure of be covenantto

"do ourpan" to

m int in

a

faitbful

testimony

for

be

Saviorinourgeneration. It

will

\emind us

of the

rnarvelousmysteryand be

vast complexity

of

God's

provide

nce. It

will bestow upon us a

seemly

humility

and a gratitudeto Godforourfathersand

what He has given us brough them (all

which

is too

often

absent in be lives of

most in our day).

Obviously, we dare not take

Pharisaical

pride in our blood lines.

Francis

Bacon once remarked that bose

who

take overmuch plidein their ineage

reminded him of potatoes.

Such

people,

Bacon

said,

clearly reveal that "their best

pans are underground "

We

must not

idolize our

heritage,

but to despise it is

Satanic. Look into yourroots andrejoice

over God's mercy

and

covenant

10vingkindness D.

February, March

993

TIlE COUNSEL ofChalcedon 5