~ Legacy ~
What kind of legacy do we want it leave behind?
The word means:
1. Money or property bequeathed to another by will.
2. Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past
What do we want to hand down to our children, grandchildren, great
grandchildren and so on...
The idea of a legacy has been floating around in my mind for awhile
now but I am not sure it has taken root and decided to stay awhile.
:-) Last night it floated back into the front after I finished a very
lengthy series of books by Michael Phillips and Judith Pella. The series begins with the
Stonewycke Trilogy and finishes with the Stonewycke Legacy. It tells
the story of a family's struggles, failures, trials, faith, trust,love and
of course the legacy that each generation passes on to the next. It is a
very moving story and you grow to love each character and really fall in love
the Scotland and it's people. It also caused me to ponder many things including
the faith of our children.
What are we leaving them?
In the last these verses were printed in the front and back of the book and I
think they will give you a better idea of what I have vaguely been
referring to:
We will not hide [them] from their children, Telling to the generation
to come the praises of the LORD, And His strength and His wonderful
works that He has done. For He established a testimony in Jacob, and
appointed a law in Israel, which He commanded our fathers, that they
should make them known to their children; that the generation to come
might know [them], the children [who] would be born, [That] they may
arise and declare [them] to their children, that they may set their
hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His
commandments; and may not be like their fathers, a stubborn and
rebellious generation, a generation [that] did not set its heart
aright, and whose spirit was not faithful to God. Psalm 78:4-8
Passing down the faith to our children is the most important thing we
can do as parents. We are to teach them the things of the Lord with
our words and actions. We cannot preach it to them alone - it has to
be a way of life. The Lord must take precedent in our own lives or our
children will see through the "Christian" mask we wear.
I will admit my husband and I have not always done a great job in this
area. We have failed to keep family devotion time and I am sure missed
many opportunities to bring Christ into a situation. But praise God He
is faithful and willing to continually bring us back on track...
I believe family devotions are one way to point our children to the
Lord but it is not enough. One of the things we have always tried to
do is use scripture to discipline our children. When a situation
arises whether it is saying unkind words, taking something that does
not belong to them, being selfish, unkind, unforgiving...we take them
to the word. We try to teach them what the Lord wants them to do in
that specific situation.
But it must go beyond that - we must teach them to rely on the Holy
Spirit and "do" the Christian life through Him. Many times I have
taken one of the boys to scripture but also reminded them that they
do what God says through the Holy Spirit. It is not always easy to
teach a young person how to yield to the Holy Spirit because frankly I don't
have it down yet either. I explain it this way - you must yield your
desires, revenge, feelings etc. and give them to the Lord, ask him to
help you love, forgive etc. your brother or whoever has wronged you. It
is not usually a one time thing but something we have to do moment by moment.
There are many other opportunities throughout the day as we watch the
news, read a book together, discuss things at the dinner table, daily
life in the neighborhood etc. to bring the Word of God into our lives.
We need to discuss with our kids or grand kids how the Lord wants us
to respond in everything....
Of course this has to all be held together with prayer. We need to be
praying for our children, grandchildren, great grandchildren...their
spouses even. They need our prayers for salvation, faith, wisdom,
discernment, guidance.
It can be a tough task BUT with the Lord's help it can be done. He is
able and nothing is impossible for Him even when things look bleak...
So...we are back to the original question - What kind of legacy are
we leaving? I pray each one of us can say with a sincer heart that
we are leaving a godly legacy - a legacy that is pleasing to the Lord.
"Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! You shall love
the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with
all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today, shall be
on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your sons and shall
talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way
and when you lie down and when you rise up." Deuteronomy 6:4-7
