Leaving A Legacy of Faith For The Next Generation

My grandmother knew a thing or two about leaving a legacy of faith for her grandchildren. She may have simply been following King David’s example.

“I always wanted to be a missionary,” she said, “but then I met your grandfather.”

My heart sank a little bit as I heard her say those words. Had this incredibly godly woman – one of the greatest influences in my life somehow missed God’s calling?

I listened intently as she continued. “God is faithful, and He has fulfilled the desires of my heart through my grandchildren.”

My grandmother, “Nana,” as we affectionately called her, did not miss her calling as I had momentarily feared. She had seen how God was faithful to her desires as she was faithful to His calling. She was a wife, a mother, a faithful church member, and a leader. In fact, her ministry brought her to places and people I would dare to guess she had never dreamed of!

She led a successful and fruitful women’s ministry and women’s retreat, and people beyond our church sought out her wisdom. I’m pretty sure even our pastor would turn to her for advice from time to time (a big deal in the conservative world I knew then). But she was always humble and never bragged about what she did or who she helped. I remember being in her kitchen multiple times when folks would call and talk to her. I loved how she would sit down and pray with them before their conversation was over. She had an incredible ministry.

You are called to this

While Nana never saw the mission field in the way she wanted, she saw God’s faithfulness and His fulfillment of her desires as she watched her grandchildren in ministry. In her youth, she thought the mission field was in another country. However, she realized that God’s mission field for her was right here, at home in the United States.

As a young woman having just graduated from bible college with thoughts of grandeur and ministry (I know now those two words don’t fit together), this short conversation had a profound impact on me. My ministry, no matter how small or great it would ever be, was not my legacy. My legacy goes beyond myself and what I do. It’s still at least several generations away. The people I minister to today are not even a part of my legacy. They are a part of my grandmother’s.

I think that’s something she understood better than I ever realized. Today, I can look back 2 generations before me and honestly say one of my grandmother’s greatest ministries was discipling her children. They would in turn disciple their children. This became an ongoing cycle of pointing the next generation to Christ. My Nana knew a thing or two about leaving a legacy of faith for her grandchildren.

Not everyone is part of a legacy like the one my Nana left. If you’re reading this and don’t have a family history of faith, that’s ok! We can all leave a legacy for our children, grandchildren, and great-great-great-great grandchildren in the way we disciple our children today. We simply can’t stay so focused on ourselves that we miss out on preparing for the next generation.

A Biblical Example of leaving a legacy of faith

As I look through the Bible, I see so many incredible legacies of faith! From Abraham to Moses; from Ruth to Peter and Paul. But none stands out more to me than David. He prepared for the next generation and left a legacy that no one would attribute to him outside a simple desire to do something for God.

David’s son Solomon received credit for building God’s temple in Jerusalem because he led the building process and made sure it happened. But the preparations began with his Father. David had a desire to serve the Lord by building a temple for Him. He thought it wasn’t right for God to live in a tent when he lived in luxury. However, God told David that though his desire to build a house for God was noble, David would not be the one to build the temple. Instead, the temple building would have to wait for his son (2 Samuel 7:1-17).

David obeyed God, but he didn’t just walk away from the temple to let his son figure it out. Knowing his son would be the one to build God’s house motivated David. He started preparing for the day he was gone and his son would be king. He started drawing up the plans for the temple and gathering supplies, setting aside treasures for the temple which he one day turned over to Solomon. David gave Solomon everything he would need to carry out the plan for the temple before he died (1 Chronicles 28).  

When Solomon became king, he knew his job was to build the temple for God. He had the plans, he had all the supplies, and the financial resources needed. He knew exactly what to do and how. All Solomon had to do was carry out the plan and oversee the work that had to be done.

Preparing like David

As I read this story in scripture it really got me thinking about how I disciple my children. While my kids won’t be building a temple, they may not even go into ministry (they are too young to know that right now), God has a call on each of their lives and it’s my job to prepare them for whatever that looks like. It’s my job as their parent to tell them about who God is and help them know Him. To share with them His faithfulness, encourage them to seek Him, as we are promised if we seek Him we will find Him (1 Chronicles 28:9, Jeremiah 29:13, Matthew 7:7-8, and many more). My job, regardless of what example I had is to leave a legacy of faith for my children and their children.

My role as a parent is to teach my children God’s ways and help them walk in it. Because one day, I’ll be gone (whether they are at college, married with their own family, or I’m running on streets of gold). I must be preparing them for the day they will walk in God’s calling without me.

What do I need to teach them?

Before David handed over the plans for the temple to His son, he told Him 4 things:

“And you, Solomon my son, know the God of your father and serve him with a whole heart and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches all hearts and understands every plan and thought. If you seek him, he will be found by you, but if you forsake him, he will cast you off forever.”

1 Chronicles 28:9, ESV

1. “…Know the God of your father…”

We’ve got to be telling our children who God is. We have an entire bible full of stories of his goodness, faithfulness, and love. But we also have our own experiences. As believers today our lives fall somewhere on the line between the formation of the early church in Acts and the return of Christ in Revelation. We are a part of God’s incredible story.

We need to teach our children that the faithful God of the Bible is the same faithful God today. Our children need to know that He never changes (Malachi 3:6, James 1:17, Hebrews 13:8). And our children need to experience His faithfulness for themselves (through worship, prayer, scripture, and serving even at a young age).

2. “…Serve Him with a whole heart and with a willing mind…”

As we go from day to day with our children, are we teaching them to serve God? I’m not just talking about serving within the church or becoming pastors someday. I’m talking about teaching our children to serve God within our daily lives – regardless of what that looks like.

As I do chores or clean the house, I can leave a legacy of faith that is teaching my children that this is worship. When I ask my children to clean up their toys, I remind them that what we have is a blessing. We honor God and serve Him when we take care of our blessings by doing things like cleaning them up so they don’t get broken.

When I ask my children to help with their assigned chore am I also teaching them to do it willingly without grumbling or complaining? Do I set an example for my children in the way I serve my family, my community, or my church without complaining? Yeah, that last question was a little convicting to me if I’m being honest.

3. “…If you seek him, he will be found by you…“

I love that this promise is repeated multiple times in scripture. God’s not playing some elaborate game of hide-and-seek with us trying not to be found. He wants to be found and promises to be found. This is such good news! Especially for our children. They don’t have to reach a certain age, or “level” of Christianity to find God.

We need to be sharing the gospel with our children every chance we get. These models how we can find Him and His mercy in every moment of life.

We need to be praying with our children, modeling and teaching them to pray and seek God not only for themselves but for others as well.

4. “…If you forsake him, he will cast you off forever…”

This may seem a little harsh. You’ll have to use your wisdom and discernment here in regard to what your children are ready for. While I want to steer clear from just getting my kids to sign on to fire insurance over a relationship with Christ, they need to understand sin and its consequences. (See my “how to share the gospel with your kids” post here).

I think what David is telling Solomon here is that too often we want the blessing of God without actually following Him. We want His riches, but don’t want to give him our hearts. Jesus even says in Matthew 7:21, “not everyone who says to me Lord, Lord will enter the kingdom of heaven…” Our lip service is not faith. God wants our hearts more than our words. When God sent Samuel to anoint the next king of Israel (David) He reminded him that an outward appearance didn’t matter if the heart was not right (1 Samuel 16:7).

In our parenting, we need to help our children get to the heart of whatever is at hand. We want them to understand the heart of the gospel. The heart of the gospel is having a restored relationship with God that lasts for all eternity. That’s how we can begin leaving a legacy of faith for the next generation.

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