“Some day all this will be yours”

Happy Monday to our CFC Family;

A while back, my son Jordan and I were standing in our backyard shed. As I was sorting through some of the clutter, I turned to him and jokingly uttered those familiar words often spoken by parents to their children: “Son, one day all of this will be yours!”

Jordan, fully aware that he wasn’t exactly standing in front of a gold mine, caught the sarcasm, smiled, and replied with a cheerful, “Thanks, Dad!”

While I may not have a fortune to pass down or a vast estate to divide among my children, as Christian parents, we have something far more valuable to give them. We can exemplify a life of faith and trust in God which through prayer and encouragement, they, in turn, would pass on to their own children and future generations.

Yesterday morning in my sermon, we looked at Psalm 37 and were reminded not to envy those who seem to prosper in this world. Wealth, possessions, and success may look appealing, but they are temporary.

Psalm 37:3 encourages us to

“Trust in the LORD and do good,” while verse 4 tells us to “take delight in the LORD.”

The greatest blessing is not found in having everything the world offers, but in knowing the God who provides what we truly need.

In Ecclesiastes 2:18-19, Solomon reflects on the frustration of working hard to accumulate possessions, only to leave them to someone else without knowing whether they will manage them wisely. After a lifetime of labour, we eventually leave behind everything we have gathered. We have little control over what happens to our earthly possessions once they are no longer ours.

That sobering truth gives us something to consider. We may work hard to provide for our families and leave them something material, but we cannot guarantee how those possessions will be used. However, if we strive to leave them a legacy of faith by teaching them God's Word, praying for them, and showing them what it means to trust Him, that is a inheritance that will far outlast anything even the greatness of Solomon could accomplish!

Of course, we cannot make the decision to follow the Lord for our children. Each generation must make that decision for themselves. But we can point them toward the Lord and show them, through our own lives, that He is worthy of their trust. Earthly treasures eventually fade, but God's truth endures.

As Psalm 37:18 reminds us, “The blameless spend their days under the LORD’s care, and their inheritance will endure forever.”

So yes, one day Jordan will likely inherit the tools I have collected over the years. Their scratched handles, chipped edges, and dings and dents tell the story of countless projects they have helped me complete. Though worn and weathered, they have served me well.

My prayer is that when Jordan looks at those old tools, he will remember more that the projects they helped me accomplish. I hope he will remember that the same hands that gripped those tools were also the same hands that folded in prayer for him and his sisters, asking God to guide their steps and draw their hearts closer to Him.

And one day, he and his sisters will pass that same legacy of faith on to their own children, teaching them to love and serve the Lord as they did. Then they, too, can look into their children’s eyes and say, “Someday, all this will be yours.”

That the faith that grandpa and grandma gave us, we now pass on to you!

Todays Question: What might change in the way we live today if we focused more on the spiritual legacy we will leave tomorrow?

Have a great week and we’ll see you Sunday!

Pastor Dan