“A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children.” (Pro 13:22a)
When the Bible speaks of leaving an inheritance to our children, it refers to much more than mere finances. It clearly teaches the need to pass on a legacy of faith, too.
Deep in the Sepik River basin of Papua New Guinea, NTM missionaries Bill & Kelley Housley work with one of the numerous unreached tribal groups there. The Sepik is the longest river on the island of New Guinea, & one of the great river systems of the world. It is a remote & primitive area. Yet the Gospel is penetrating the darkness, men & women are turning to Christ, & God’s principles are being lived out.
One of Bill Housley’s tribal friends recently asked to borrow a camera to take pictures of his ceremonial masks & put them in a book. This was rather unusual, so Bill asked why his friend wanted to do it.
The tribal man replied, “After I take the pictures for the book, I am going to burn all the masks we have left so that my children know that that road is not an option for them. They are going to grow up hearing God’s Talk.”
Bill explains, “He wants to take pictures of them so he can write a book for his children about how they were in idolatry and how God in His mercy right out of nowhere brought His Talk into their village and saved their souls!" What a legacy!
Bill goes on, "Remember, this is coming from a man who will live & die in this jungle village here in PNG living in a hut, cooking on a fire, and never see a tiny percent of the material goods that we live with every day as Westerners. But, he has seen the truth and the truth has set his heart free. He is, as we say here, hanging on Christ alone!”
What kind of legacy are you leaving your children? Is it only money, or are you leaving them something more? Are you leaving them something that is temporary, or something that is eternal?
All too often, we simply focus on leaving our family financially well off. However, money does not bring true happiness or peace. That only comes from a personal relationship with Christ.
Are we making sure that our children understand why we believe what we do & the importance of making the Lord the center of our life?
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