It used to be that to be part of family meant something. The family name meant something.
The family business meant something (fisherman, carpenter, blacksmith.) The family land meant something (so much so that God instituted the Year of Jubilee to return the land of the original family!).
And the family legacy meant something.
It can still mean something today.
Parents and grandparents today have the responsibility to leave not only a material legacy of wealth to their children and grandchildren — which may include an inheritance, land, education, a vocation or a combination of all four — but also a responsibility to leave a lasting legacy.
A Legacy of Faith
Do you have a plan to intentionally pass on your faith in a winsome way, to your children and grandchildren and future generations? The Scripture tells us to do so!
Proverbs 22:6 – “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.
A Legacy of Vision
Proverbs 29:17-18 offers this wisdom, “Discipline your son, and he will give you rest; he will give delight to your heart. Where there is no vision, the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.”
When you help give our children or grandchildren and inheritance of wisdom and a vision of that which is bigger than themselves, you also give them a purpose worth living for!
A Legacy of God’s Word
As parents, grandparents and caregivers, you have the responsibility to teach God’s truth precept upon precept. This includes teaching principles to live by (not just a moral compass, but a biblical foundation), biblical stewardship, money management skills, the value of hard work, how to be discerning, the importance of character, virtue, integrity, self-control and more wisdom from God’s Word.
In addition to verbally sharing God’s Word, you also have the responsibility to model for them a heart that is passionate about God.
Ephesians 6:4 – “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.
Our Most Important Mission Field
The great evangelist Billy Sunday said, “I tried to save the whole world and watched my own family go to hell!” We often forget that our own family can be our greatest opportunity to multiply our impact on the world through evangelism and discipleship!
Psalm 127:3-5 – “Sons are a heritage from the LORD, children a reward from him. Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one’s youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them. They will not be put to shame when they contend with their enemies in the gate.”
I believe the original vision that the Israelites had was that their children and grandchildren — whether they were fishermen, carpenters, doctors, lawyers or priests — would ALL be missionaries and evangelists as part of God’s plan to use his people in His great redemptive plan to reach their generation to the one true and living God.
I also believe that early Christians had that same inspiration and motivation in raising their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.
Through the Stewardship Legacy Coaching™ process, we hope to inspire each of you to influence the lives of your family for generations to come, to bring about a revival of Family Legacy to Americans, especially American Christian families.
[author] [author_image timthumb=’on’]http://50.87.248.220/~stewarf0/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Jeff-Pic-Headshot.jpg[/author_image] [author_info]Jeff Rogers, CEP™, Founder and Chairman[/author_info] [/author]
