Recently my grandson Alex accompanied me as I ran errands. Unexpectedly he asked, “So, Grandpa, how did you receive Christ as your Savior?” Touched, I told him about my childhood conversion. Alex was still interested, so I described how his great-grandfather had come to faith. This included a brief overview of how he survived World War II, his initial resistance to the gospel, and how his life changed after becoming a Christian.
Later I was reminded of our conversation when I read a Bible passage that spoke of faith being passed down through the generations. In Deuteronomy, Moses instructed the Israelites to take to heart God’s truths and share them with the next generation as a way of life: “These words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up” (6:6-7).
Biblical parenting is not a guarantee of having godly offspring. But when we see spiritual interest in the next generation, we can cultivate vital conversations about God’s Word. This can be one of a parent’s, or grandparent’s, greatest legacies. — Dennis Fisher
God gives us children for a time,
To train them in His way,
To love them and to teach them how
To follow and obey. —Sper
The richest legacy a parent can leave a child is a godly example.