Have you ever noticed nothing brings out people’s true colors like the division of a family member’s assets? Families have split over the division of assets and the readings of wills. It’s sad, but it happens more often than not. During a time when family members should be clinging to one another to get through a difficult time, they make it more difficult by fighting over things.
What do you stand to inherit? Do you know? Is it money or is it an heirloom that has been passed down from one generation to another? My mother has several items that have been passed down through the generations. Most of them hold more sentimental value rather than monetary value, such as the family Bible. It has been in our family for over a hundred years. The various inscriptions in it as well as the newspaper clippings that have been kept in it give clues to our ancestors and make it priceless.
This morning as I was reading through 2 Timothy, I was reminded of a rich inheritance I’ve been given, and I don’t have to wait for anyone’s passing to gain access to it and there’s plenty of it for me and my brothers to share.
2 Timothy 1:5-7 says,
I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.”
My great grandparents, grandparents and my parents have passed on an inheritance of faith that holds more value than any thing they may pass on to me. On my father’s side of the family, we can trace a legacy of faith that dates back to the Revolutionary War. I love hearing about my ancestors and their dependence on the Lord.
My husband and I may or may not have anything of monetary value to leave our children one day, but we know for certain we have something far more precious that we’ve already given them. They have full access to it now. They don’t have to wait to use it, but they do have to engage it in order to benefit from it. We’ve given them an abiding faith in Jesus Christ, but they must fan it into a flame by spending intimate time with the Lord. They will not reap the benefit of the gift we’ve passed on to them if they do not keep it active and alive in their own hearts.
It has been said,
We can give our kids food for their stomachs, clothes for their backs, shelter over their heads and an education; however, if we don’t give them Jesus, we’ve given them nothing.”
What type of inheritance have you received from your family? Is it one of faith? If so, have you fanned it into a fire? You may be a first generation believer in your family, and that’s okay. Just because you’re the first in your family line to call upon the name of Jesus, doesn’t mean you have to be the last. Teach those coming behind you all you know, investing in them a treasure that moth cannot destroy and thief cannot steal [Matthew 6:19-21].
The choice is up to you. What will you leave behind?
Leave A Comment