by Dennis and Barbara Rainey
December 17
What Legacy Are You Leaving? Deuteronomy 32:7
Remember the days of old, consider the years of all generations. Ask your father, and he will inform you, your elders, and they will tell you.
As we conduct FamilyLife Conferences across the country, I find that the concept of leaving behind a "legacy" is a bit unfamiliar to many couples. Old Testament families had a strong sense of the legacy of generations. In the text above, families contemporary with Moses had received a legacy from the past that they were urged to remember, giving them a sense of roots.Some families in the twentieth century also take their heritages seriously. As one young lad approached his sixth birthday, he could tell something big was going to happen. A week before his birthday party, he noticed the garage door locked with a shiny new padlock. The day finally arrived, and he was awakened by an uncle who asked him to come downstairs to the kitchen where his parents, aunts, uncles, grandmother and grandfather were waiting.
They all walked out and formed a semicircle in front of the garage door. Then the boy's father unlocked the padlock and opened the door. Lying there was a section of a redwood tree, nearly five feet tall and one foot thick.
As the boy drew closer, he noticed the huge slice of wood had been carefully lacquered and polished. Then he saw little signs painted on the rings of the tree. One ring was labeled "The Emancipation Proclamation, January 1, 1863." Still another marker signified when his mother and father had met and married.
The more the boy studied the carefully labeled rings on that huge piece of redwood, the more he realized it not only contained a history of his family, but also a history of his race. His family understood the importance of helping a young man understand his origins.
Is it any wonder that this little boy-Alex Haley-grew up to write the best-selling novel Roots?
Prayer:
That you will be able to affirm the positives in your family of origin, negate all the negatives and leave a strong spiritual legacy for your children.
Discuss: What legacy did you inherit from your parents? What legacy would you like to bequeath to your children?