A Worthy Inheritance

The writer of the Psalms said, “Lo, children are an heritage of the Lord: and the fruit of the womb is its reward” (Psa. 127:3). We have observed that "children are an heritage of the Lord," which means God has loaned us our children for a short time. We must make the best of this limited amount of time to prepare the path for our children and grandchildren. Let us consider the following:
Jesus told the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. It is important for us to know that according to Jewish law given in Deut 21:17, one-third of a father's estate went to the younger son, while the remaining two-thirds went to the older son. When we consider leaving an inheritance to our children lets be sure to seek the counsel of God’s word.

We have the responsibility to leave the following for our children and grandchildren:

1. A GOOD NAME. To leave our children a good name is of paramount importance. The wise-man said, "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold" (Proverbs 22:1). Solomon also stated, "A good name is better than precious ointment; and the day of death than the day of one's birth" (Ecc. 7:1).  
The good name we wear will have doors of opportunity opened to them in various fields of endeavor. We should want our children and grandchildren to wear the name Christian! A good name, once lost, is difficult to get back. Let us be cognizant of the name we wear, both the physical and spiritual name, and preserve it at all costs.  

2. A CHRISTIAN HOME.  To leave our children the presence of a Christian home is one of the most valuable gifts that may be passed on to our children. When the prodigal son sat brokenhearted in a pigsty, he had been stripped of everything except his memories of home (Luke 15:17-22). We have often heard the expression, "Distance makes the heart grow fonder." The prodigal son learned that things at home were not nearly as bad as originally thought.
We would be hard pressed to leave our children something more valuable than the home, which hath foundations build upon God (Psalms 127:1-3). As time passes and our bodies have returned to the dust of the earth it will be most satisfying that we have left our children a wonderful heritage, the home.

3.  THE PLAN OF SALVATION. The most essential thing we can leave our children is the scriptural plan of salvation. What can be more important than leaving our children with God’s plan to save us? Teaching them to: (Hear) - Rom. 10:17; (Believe) - John 8:24; (Repent) - Lk. 13:3; (Confess) - Rom. 10:10; and (be baptized) - Mk. 16:16, is the most wonderful gift we could give our children. As parents and grandparents we could want nothing more than our children to be faithful. Have you given thought to what your leaving your children?        Eric