Your Spiritual Heritage Doesn't Have to Define You

“The wicked are overthrown, and are not: but the house of the righteous shall stand” (Proverbs 12:7).
Every man has a spiritual heritage that he has absolutely no control over. Some men have a godly heritage, while others have ancestors who may have been antagonistic toward God. What we do have power over is the spiritual legacy we leave to our children and grandchildren. Fathers spend their entire lives working, saving, and investing so that they will have an inheritance to leave for their children. Yet, how many of us expend the same amount of effort and energy in bestowing a godly heritage to our children? Our actions today will affect generations to come. “The generation of the upright shall be blessed” (Psalms 112:2). “Thou shalt keep therefore his statutes, and his commandments, which I command thee this day, that it may go well with thee, and with thy children after thee, and that thou mayest prolong thy days upon the earth, which the Lord thy God giveth thee, for ever” (Deuteronomy 4:40). The money, land, and earthly riches we leave behind will eventually be spent, divided, and sold. Only our legacy will remain; it is eternal. What kind of heritage will we leave behind? Jim Elliot said, “When it comes time to die, make sure all you have to do is die.” “Live so that when the final summons comes, you will leave something more behind you than an epitaph on a tombstone or an obituary in a newspaper.” (Billy Sunday). Make sure you leave behind a legacy your children will be proud of.