Dr. Kent L. Thornburg is the M. Lowell Edwards Chair of Cardiovascular Research, Professor of Medicine, in the Knight Cardiovascular Institute at Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU). He holds joint professorships in the Departments of Physiology & Pharmacology, Biomedical Engineering and Obstetrics & Gynecology. And he is the creator of National Future Generations Day (NFGD) which took place yesterday.
The point of the day is to bring awareness that the experiences of one generation can have a profound impact on the next. His expertise is in the areas of health and Dr. Thornburg believes that if some major changes were made, we could cure many diseases like diabetes, cancer, and heart issues in just three generations.
Thornburg wrote, “Generational changes is ‘a hopeful vision of what can happen if we take action now. And who wouldn’t want to give future generations a chance to live healthier, fuller lives, with fewer doctor’s appointments along the way?”1
I think we can all agree with that! However, there is something vitally more important than a healthier next generation. It’s a spiritually healthier next generation. Unfortunately, it seems that we are not achieving this any more than Israel did.
The Lord said in Jeremiah 16:10-12, “And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? (11) Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and
have not kept my law; (12) And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me.”
According to statistics recently released by Pew Research, mainline denominations are showing a steady decline in the last nearly two decades with the Southern Baptist, United Methodist, and Evangelical Lutherans taking the biggest hits. Catholics have only declined by 2% versus 4% of the mainline denominations.2
“More than half of people who say religion was very important in their families while they were growing up also say religion is very important to them today. By contrast, among people who say religion was not too important or not at all important to their families during childhood, just 17% say religion is very important to them today…
“And among all respondents who were raised in a religion … those who were raised in highly religious homes are much more likely to have retained their childhood religious identity.
“Indeed, 74% of people who were raised in a religion and grew up attending weekly religious services in a family in which religion was very important still identify with their childhood religion today; 15% of respondents who grew up in this kind of environment now say they have no religion, and 10% identify with a religion different from the one in which they were raised.
“By contrast, among people who were raised in a religion but grew up seldom or never attending religious services – and in a family in which religion was not too important or not at all important – fewer than half still identify with their childhood religion. Instead, most now say they have no religion (40%) or identify with a religion different from the one in which they were raised (16%).”3
It’s obvious that the spiritual health of our nation is declining rapidly due to the spiritual decline of the Christian home. And we know that the statistics are even worse than they appear because Pew Research accepts any claim of Christianity rather than seeking out those with a clear understanding of the Gospel.
The source of spiritual health doesn’t come from religious activities. It comes from the Giver of spiritual life!
The book of Acts records an event where a jailer is saved. If we want spiritual health in our homes and for future generations, it all begins with the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ that transforms us into a “new creature” where “old things are passed away and, behold, all things are become new.” Acts 16:30-34 tells the story.
“And …[the jailer] said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? (31) And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (32) And they spake unto him the word of the Lord, and to all that were in his house. (33) And he took them the same hour of the night, and washed their stripes; and was baptized, he and all his, straightway. (34) And when he had brought them into his house, he set meat before them, and rejoiced, believing in God with all his house.” (Acts 16:30-34)
1https://www.nationaldaycalendar.com/national-day/national-future-generations-day-third-friday-in-march
2https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2025/02/26/christianity-us-decline-pew-religion-census/80487678007/
3https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2025/02/26/decline-of-christianity-in-the-us-has-slowed-may-have-leveled-off/
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