Years ago my mother was really into genealogy.  She spent lots of time scanning micro film documents and hunting down grave markers.  A teen at the time, I was often more interested in other things but it still intrigued me when she'd finally find the next piece in the puzzle.  Although each side of my family was very different from the other, they both had strong family ties.  They gathered and would tell stories.  The coming together gave us younger generations a sense of security and love that you don't find in other ways.  These generations paved the way for us today in so many ways, but most of all, they shaped who we have become.  For some, that may not be such a good thing and I am so very sorry for that.  For others though, the legacy is one they feel compelled to pass on to their children.

God tells us that future generations will be affected by how we behave today.  I've seen it in my own family.  I've seen how a tragedy can turn a man's heart toward bitterness.  In his bitterness he withdraws from the Lord and the church and takes his family with him.  Then, many years later he comes to realize he was wrong and begins to seek the Lord.  The problem?  His descendants are already on the path to godlessness and unless that cycle is broken, it will continue.  He can pray but oh the regret that fills his heart.

On the flipside, I've seen a powerful prayer warrior couple...despite circumstances... raise their children in the fear of the Lord.  The children grew to love God and raise their children to do the same.  The mother's prayers delivered her son from enemy fire and ultimately saw him called into the ministry.  Grandsons and granddaughters serve in the church and give generously to others.  A great grandson walks the streets of Orlando preaching the good news to anyone who will listen.  A great granddaughter travels to Africa to share her faith and minister to others.  A great grandson holds his troop together during war through prayer and encouragement in the Lord.  A great granddaughter fasts and prays for the healing of her young son and watches a miracle.  A great granddaughter buries her first born and relies on the comforting arms of Jesus to pull her through.  Several great grandkids homeschool their children and yearn to instill in them what was passed to them...the legacy of faith!  That active, living faith that keeps us moving in the direction to which God has called us.  It's something that is practiced and learned through discovering who God is and that no matter what, He is faithful to love us in all things both good and bad.

I've also seen what happens when a believer decides to turn the tide of her past by seeking the Lord with her future.  I am a descendant of this woman as well.  She came from a devastating background of alcohol and abuse and while she isn't without scars, she loves Jesus and determined that her children would know a different life...a God who saves!  Even if you are one whose biological family lived anything but a legacy of faith, you can change it.  I'll even go so far as to say that if you are a believer you do have faithful ancestors in your adopted lineage!  Oh glory to God!  I just find the following passage so encouraging:

"Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring—not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all.  As it is written: "I have made you a father of many nations."  He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed—the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."
Romans 4:16-17(NIV)

So do not dismay if your family legacy isn't one of faithfulness to our Lord, you have a new legacy as heirs with Christ!  Grab your Bible and begin the faith walk your Biblical ancestors took.  No matter what kind of example we witnessed, we need to actively seek God and the legacy He wishes for us to pass on.  One day we will be the ancestors, how will we impact future generations long after we're gone?  By the choices we make today.  I would like to make a positive lasting difference....wouldn't you?

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
2 Corinthians 4:18

"The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever."
1 John 2:17

BEAUTY of FORGIVENESS
hosted here on October 25th