Building a spiritual legacy
Every Christian is in one of three places in a spiritual legacy. First, they may be in the midst of a godly heritage. Their parents, grandparents and even great grandparents may have been devout followers of Jesus. This describes my family heritage. As far back as we can trace, Blackabys have walked with God. My great grandfather and his two brothers attended Spurgeon’s College when Spurgeon led it. It is no surprise, then, that my family tree has produced numerous Baptist ministers.
A second position may be that a person is at the fountainhead of a brand new spiritual legacy. They may be first-generation Christians. This can be difficult as such people have not grown up in a Christian home and they must learn many things about rearing godly children that comes naturally to third generation believers. Nonetheless, one day their great grandchildren may well look back fondly upon them and thank God that they set in motion a belief in God that continued for generations afterward.
The third way people deal with spiritual legacies is that they bring them to an end. It has been said that we are always just one generation away from total paganism. When you fail to raise your children to love and serve the Lord, you effectively bring an end to the Christian legacy that was handed to you. This, of course, is the one position you want to avoid at all cost.
Consider the first Father-figure in the Bible, God. He was the parent figure to Adam and Eve and provided them a paradise for a home. He had only one rule for them to obey and regularly spent time with them. Yet, they rebelled and chose to go their own way. Adam was the first human father. His son Cain murdered his brother Abel and spent the rest of his life under a curse (Genesis 4:1-15). Noah was the most righteous man on the planet, yet his son Ham shamed him and spent the final years of his life under a curse (Genesis 9:24-27).
Abraham was the father of the Jewish nation. Yet he fathered a son Ishmael who would not be his heir (Genesis 17:18-25). He also lied twice about his wife Sarah, claiming she was his sister (Genesis 12:10-20; 20:1-18). Isaac, Abraham’s son, would lie about his wife being his sister as well (Genesis 26:1-11). Isaac’s son Jacob would take deception to another level, tricking his own brother and lying to his father (Genesis 27:1-29). Not surprisingly, Jacob’s ten older sons would lie to him about their brother Joseph’s disappearance (Genesis 37:31-36). And these were the patriarchs! The founders of the people of God!
The fact is, we are hard pressed to find a godly father who raised a godly son. What do we conclude from this? It’s not easy to raise godly children!
In fact, I would argue that it is humanly impossible. You must have God’s help. God intends that He will produce generation after generation of godly seed who will be a blessing to their city and nation and to the world. God intends that each generation would stand on the spiritual shoulders of the generation before them, reaching ever increasing heights in their walk with God.
When I began having grandchildren four years ago, I started a prayer journal for all six of them. Every time I hear of them doing something that reflects God working in their life, I write it down and begin praying for them. I intend to give my grandchildren their prayer journals one day. Then they’ll learn about what I saw God doing in their lives when they were children and youth. Perhaps that will encourage them to continue with the good work God began in them.
We must help our children find their way into a loving, committed relationship with God. Simply taking them to church each week will not get that done. We need to talk regularly with our kids about God and His ways. Many families talk regularly around the dinner table about politics or sports or the weather, but never about God. Many fathers can recite the batting averages of baseball players long-since retired, yet they cannot quote any Scriptures. Children often see their parents reading the news, but never the Bible. If we want to raise up a godly generation, we must be intentional about doing so!
As with all worthy undertakings in life, we cannot go back in the past to “do it right” this time. But we can start where we are today and “do today” well. If you have made mistakes and fallen short in your parenting in the past, God will not load you down with guilt. Rather, He will show you what adjustments you need to make so you begin to steer your children in a Godward direction.
It is never too late to begin influencing your children and grandchildren for good. May God bless your efforts in that endeavor and may your descendants be a gift of God to all who meet them.
Photo source: istock
 | Richard Blackaby is the president of Blackaby Ministries International and lives in Georgia. He travels internationally speaking on spiritual leadership in the home, church, and marketplace as well as on spiritual awakening, experiencing God, and the Christian life. Richard regularly ministers to Christian CEOs and business leaders. He has written or co-authored 33 books . This article was first published on RichardBlackaby.com. Used with permission from Blackaby Ministries International. Learn More » |
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