1 Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, To Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker, 2 …to Apphia our sister, to Archippus our fellow soldier Philemon 1:1-2a (NIV)
Legacy! Ever consider that how it’s built? It’s built by many small decisions. Let me show you how: Men, your wife has just given birth to a baby girl. You want to make sure she’s brought up right so you purchase the essentials: a Raiders (just impute your favorite team wherever you see the Raiders. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying I’m a fan. I’m just using the Silver and Black as an illustration) beanie so she comes home from the hospital in proper attire. You get her a Raiders football so she can sleep next to. Don’t forget the matching Raiders T-shirts for Dad and Daughter, the Raiders mobile, the Raiders poster for over her bed (the one with the skull so she has pleasant dreams), and don’t forget Raiders Barbie for when she gets older. What have you done? You’ve trained her in the way she should go by surrounding her with what you want her to love…the cultivation of a Raiders legacy.
Here’s a tough question we all need to face: What legacy are we leaving for the next generation, purposely or in avertedly: carnality, laziness, poverty, entitlement, a drain on society, a giver, a servant, one who loves God’s house, one who respects authority, dishonesty, a quitter…?
A godly legacy is intentional. It doesn’t accidently happen. You have to decide to allow the little decisions point the next generation in the right direction. It’s not just the church’s job to point your child in the right direction. We only have them for maybe 3 hours a week. You on the other hand have an unlimited amount of influential opportunities. Do they see you pray? Do they see you in God’s Word? Do they see you make decisions consulting God? More important, do you pray with them often? Are you in God’s Word with them? It’s intentional.
Philemon, Paul’s dear friend and fellow worker (which means he served God in some form of ministry) left a legacy that lead Archippus to be a “fellow soldier” of Paul’s. That doesn’t mean that Paul and Archippus were in the military. In Paul’s writings Christian ministers are compared to soldiers (2 Timothy 2:3-4, Philippians 2:25). Philemon raised a minister—one who wages warfare with wickedness.
What legacy are you leaving?
Question:
What future do you want for your kids?
What future do you believe God wants for your child?
Child rearing is an act of a steward and not an owner. In other words, all belongs to God including our little bundles of joy. With that in mind, how are we to raise God’s property?
What will you do this week to cultivate a godly legacy in your kids?
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