A Rich Inheritance
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: Proverbs 13:22a
My kids are one of my greatest joys. But, as I’ve grown in the Lord lately, they’ve brought me even greater joy, as we’ve begun to be able to communicate about our own spiritual journeys in deeper ways. Their spiritual lives have always been of great concern for me, but when I allowed myself to grow cold spiritually, I didn’t continue to raise them in the way I had initially intended to. It’s one of my life’s great regrets. That time is gone and there is no getting it back. The only thing to do now, is to do my very best to live a life that shows them what God can do in the life of a backslider and pray that they see the joy of a right relationship with Him, and the happiness that comes from working toward living a life in the center of His will.
There is not a lot that can thrill a mother’s heart quite like hearing your adult children volunteer what they learned in their church services or having one call to express the joy of seeing a young soul seeking or explaining how they felt moved to testify in their own church service. I don’t push my children to share things with me, I share any insights I learned, or tell of any great movements of the Lord in our home service, and if they wish to share, they do, but how my soul sings when they do. Prayers are answered when my young men see our Savior in their lives in real and tangible ways.
I may or may not have financial gifts to bestow on my children when I depart this life. I may or may not leave them property. But, the one thing I want to be sure they understand is that I am working hard to leave them a rich and sure testimony of a saving and redeeming Lord. I want them to look back at my life and be able to say, “Mom wasn’t perfect. She made mistakes, but when the Lord called her to return to Him and surrender every ounce of who she was and what she had, she did so and never ever looked back.” I want them to have fond memories of me sitting with the Word in my hand as I study and pray. I want them to know with certainty that my God was the most important thing in my life. I want them to remember a mother that joyfully prepared for church services every time the door opened, that always looked forward to going into the house of the Lord. They’ve had a mother who attended out of duty, may they forever remember that they now have a mother who wouldn’t be anywhere else in the world by choice.
Lest we forget, we have God-given responsibilities to bring our children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. We are to be their example. We are to teach them His precepts, and how can we do that if we aren’t focused on them ourselves? If we don’t heed and acknowledge God’s work in our own lives, how will they know to look for Him in theirs? If we don’t praise His greatness with everything in our hearts, minds, and souls, how will they learn to? If we don’t make His ways and His path the most important thing in our lives, how can we expect them to?
We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the LORD, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done. Psalm 78:4
The living, the living, he shall praise thee, as I do this day: the father to the children shall make known thy truth. Isaiah 38:19
18 Therefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a sign upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes. 19 And ye shall teach them your children, speaking of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, when thou liest down, and when thou risest up. 20 And thou shalt write them upon the door posts of thine house, and upon thy gates: 21 That your days may be multiplied, and the days of your children, in the land which the LORD sware unto your fathers to give them, as the days of heaven upon the earth. Deuteronomy 11:18-21
What heritage are you creating for your children? Today is not too late to start crafting a heritage of faith. Today is a great day to renew your commitment to our Lord and begin again to build memories of faith for your children. Be they infant, toddler, or even adult, they will quickly recognize a change in your life, and if your heart is true they will recognize it for what it is. They may or may not follow quickly in your footsteps, but you can rest assured that you’ve done the best you can to send them in the right direction: toward our Lord and Savior, who can and will meet ALL their needs.
