“Children’s children are the crown of old men.”
— Proverbs 17:6a
On Wednesday, we had the privilege of welcoming our fifth grandchild, Ezra Jehu Kuntz, and we are grateful to God for his safe arrival. As I thought about him and our other grandchildren, I was reminded again that they are among the great joys of my life. There is something profoundly satisfying about holding your child’s child.
Those who have grandchildren know the feeling. But why is it so joyful? Certainly, part of the pleasure is enjoying little ones without quite the same responsibilities. Grandparents usually are not the ones waking up throughout the night, changing every diaper, or carrying the daily weight of raising them. But surely that cannot explain the depth of the joy.
Five grandchildren later, I think I understand it a little better. Solomon puts words to the experience when he says, “Children’s children are the crown of old men” (Proverbs 17:6a).
A crown. That is how God describes grandchildren.
A Crown of Grace
Crowns immediately bring to mind glory, honor, and dignity. We think of kings and the honor placed upon their heads. And according to Proverbs, one of the glories God may give us as we grow older is the blessing of seeing another generation coming behind us.
The beauty of this particular crown is that you cannot place it upon your own head. You can raise your children, instruct them, discipline them, pray for them, and seek to establish a faithful household. But eventually they grow up and establish households of their own. Then, by God’s grace, another generation appears.
Your children have children.
Perhaps that is why the birth of my first grandchild affected me so vividly. I got to hold a little person whom I had not raised, yet whose life is inseparably connected to mine. Another branch had appeared on the family tree. Another image-bearer to love, pray for, teach, and enjoy.
I was looking at a crown before I understood that he was a crown.
I did not yet understand how God, in his grace, was bestowing a particular kind of glory and honor upon my wife and me through our grandchildren. With five of them now, I see it more clearly.
The Glory of Another Generation
Part of the glory of grandchildren is that they allow us to see beyond ourselves—beyond our own generation and even beyond our sins, mistakes, and failures.
Our culture encourages us to think about life primarily in terms of ourselves: our accomplishments, our experiences, our plans, and our legacy. Scripture gives us a much longer horizon. God works through generations.
Grandchildren make that truth wonderfully tangible. The child you once carried is now carrying a child. The one you taught is now teaching. The one you prayed over is now praying over another. And, by the grace of God, you begin to see the faith being handed down once more.
Of course, none of this is automatic. Grandchildren are not proof of our faithfulness, nor is faith inherited merely through bloodlines. Every generation must know, trust, and serve the Lord. But that is precisely why grandchildren are such a glorious gift. They represent another generation in which God may display His grace.
The Christian vision for the family is larger than simply raising successful children. We desire to raise sons and daughters who love Christ and who, in turn, teach their sons and daughters to love Him. We are not simply trying to finish our own race faithfully. We want to hand the faith to those running behind us. And if God grants us the years, we get the privilege of watching them run.
“May You See Your Children’s Children”
That brings me to another passage that has taken on greater significance for me as a grandfather. Psalm 128 begins, “Blessed is every one who fears the LORD, who walks in His ways” (v. 1). The psalm then describes the blessing of a fruitful household—a wife like a fruitful vine and children like olive plants around the table. Near the end comes this wonderful benediction:
“Yes, may you see your children’s children.”
— Psalm 128:6
Notice that it does not merely say, May you have grandchildren. It says, May you see them.
May the Lord give you years enough to watch another generation arrive. May you hold your children’s children. May you hear them running through the house. May you watch them grow. May you tell them what the Lord has done. May you watch your children teach their children the truths you once taught them. And perhaps, if God grants many years, may you see those grandchildren grow up and walk faithfully before the Lord themselves.
That is something worth growing old for.
Wearing the Crown
And if grandchildren really are a crown, then those of us who have been given this blessing should consider how we wear it. Not with pride, but with gratitude. Not merely by spoiling our grandchildren, but by blessing them. Not merely by entertaining them, but by teaching them. Not merely by taking pictures of them, but by praying for them.
Grandparents possess something younger generations do not yet have: years of seeing the faithfulness of God. We have stories to tell. We can take our grandchildren by the hand and say, “Let me tell you what the Lord has done.”
Growing older takes some things away. Strength diminishes. Children leave home. Seasons change. But God also gives things with age that youth cannot possess. One of those gifts is the ability to look around the room and see generations.
I have five grandchildren now. When the first one arrived, I knew there was something glorious about it, though I could not quite explain why. Now I understand a little better.
Proverbs gives me language for the joy I already possess: “Children’s children are the crown of old men.” And Psalm 128 gives me something to continue praying for: “Yes, may you see your children’s children.”
I have seen them. That itself is a blessing.
Now, by God’s grace, I want to see them grow. I want to see them know and love Christ. I want to see them receive the faith that has been handed down to them. And perhaps, if the Lord gives me the years, I may even have the joy of watching them hand that faith to yet another generation.
That would be a crown indeed.
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