Spiritual Inheritance

Psalm 127:3; Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward.

I recently received a family heirloom from a dear aunt of mine who’s in her eighties. I was so touched by her gesture, and I cherish this gift.

This act of handing down something from one generation to the next reminded me of when my husband and I were expecting our third son. We felt that each of our four children was a precious gift and wanted them to have the best life possible, but finances were always a challenge.

As I anticipated the birth of this son, I thought about our humble means and felt God impress upon my heart the truly rich inheritance we had to pass on to him and all of our children. That inheritance would come through prayer that these children would experience the unconditional love of their Creator and that they would return that love as much as humanly possible. And I knew that this was perhaps the only and surely the richest inheritance we could wish for them.

If you’re reading this on Wednesday, this is the day my husband and I move this son I prayed for just a few short years ago into his new living quarters at Northwestern College in St. Paul.

Every parent who’s ever experienced this process knows how hard it is to let them go. But when letting them go is accompanied with the assurance of knowing they are fully equipped to handle life’s challenges because they’ve taken hold of their spiritual inheritance of faith in God, this process will not be quite so hard.

2 Tim.3:14–17 (NLT); But you must remain faithful to the things you have been taught. You know they are true, for you know you can trust those who taught you. You have been taught the Holy Scriptures from childhood, and they have given you the wisdom to receive the salvation that comes by trusting in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.