"For you have heard my vows, O God; you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name" (Psalm 61:5). "That I might live for God" (Galatians 2:19).
In a meeting yesterday Brooksyne and I met Kendall, a young man whose vibrant walk with the Lord was immediately evident. He is a school teacher who shared the Easter message in his church last Sunday. Our conversation was engaging and thoughtful. He told us, "You knew my grandpa. In fact you referred to a tribute I made at his memorial service last year in your Daily Encouragement message."
I met Kendall’s grandparents, Ruth and Richard Lehman, about five years ago at a prayer meeting and have corresponded with them mostly through our daily encouragement email since that time. Brooksyne and I attended Richard's memorial service in October of last year and we stay in contact with his grandmother through email. After Kendall refreshed our memory we did indeed remember his touching words of tribute concerning his grandfather. It was obvious that Richard had passed his spiritual legacy on to his grandchildren.
In my premarital counseling when I share faith and perspective with young couples preparing for marriage I make a vitally important point. We establish the foundations for leaving a godly heritage early in life and this heritage incrementally builds all through life, one brick at a time. It’s not as though we just wake up one morning and decide to leave a legacy!
Many years ago I was at the funeral of a young person who had died in an accident. The room was full of many young people still stunned with the suddenness of his death. It was a grim reminder of the unpredictability of life dispelling the illusion of their invincibility. An older minister made an interesting point regarding his generation's heritage. "We've given you so much to live with, but we haven't given you very much to live for."
There's a lot of truth to that statement isn't there? My, do we have a lot to live with, particularly here in America. We take our incredible national prosperity for granted and some take it even to an attitude of entitlement. But the very nature of seeking to find fulfillment in anything but God's plan is that it's never really satisfying over time. Something new and promising is always around the corner like a bigger, newer model TV, a faster computer or a more feature-laden cell phone.
What are we passing on to our children and all those we influence in the generations following us? I purposefully chose the last part of a Bible verse to highlight a simple statement made by the apostle Paul, "That I might live for God." Paul surely had very little, particularly by our standards, to live with, but so much to live for. He went on to write, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Galatians 2:20).
Let us consider today our spiritual heritage. The Psalmist proclaimed, "You have given me the heritage of those who fear your name." Fundamentally this heritage is the truths we transmit and the life we live that gets passed on to those in our own generation and generations to follow. Those who fear His Name are transmitting the truth of this heritage while they live and even after they pass on. If Ruth could have been in the Easter service where Kendall preached last Sunday most likely there’d be points he would make, inflections in his voice, and Scriptural truths that he shared that would make her say to herself, “He’s just like his grandfather.”
Ask yourself today: What am I living for and more importantly who am I living it for?
Be encouraged today,
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily Prayer: Father, we desire to pass on a godly heritage to our children and our children’s children. In doing so we must set our hearts on things above far more than earthly things below. We want to let Your Holy Word flourish in our lives as we teach, encourage, and admonish one another with all spiritual wisdom. May all we do and say be for Your glory and in honor of Christ in whose name we pray. Amen.
