My wife and I have the privilege of living in the farmstead that once belonged to her grandparents. But it's not just their home we get to enjoy. Every spring, some beautiful purple iris flowers bloom all over our front yard. I was touched when my wife told me she can remember when her Grandma planted those flowers - probably 50 years ago. Grandma's been in heaven for over 20 years - but what she planted is still beautifying our world.
Well, I'm Ron Hutchcraft and I want to have A Word With You today about "Grandma's Flowers."
In many ways, the measure of the impact of your life is the fragrance that goes on long after you're gone. In Grandma's case, it was far more than flowers. For me, they're just a symbol of a larger legacy she left - a son who loved Christ, two granddaughters who are in the Lord's service - one of whom I'm married to...and three great-grandchildren who are spending their lives serving Christ.
If God has entrusted you with a family of your own, I just want to encourage you to think legacy. That kind of perspective will determine your priorities, it will shape your decisions, and it will remind you every day of the most important things you have to do.
Thinking legacy is the passion of our word for today from the Word of God in Psalm 78, beginning with verse 4. The psalmist says, "We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, His power, and the wonders He has done...to teach their children, so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget His deeds..."
Those children of yours - those grandchildren - even those nieces or nephews - they are God's great trust to you. He's counting on you to plant in them the ways of God, the words of God, a love for God. And you just don't have anything more important to do. They are the legacy of your brief journey on this planet.
And how can you sow that seed most effectively? Deuteronomy 11:19 suggests that you will "teach them to your children" by "talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up." The transfer of a God-relationship from one generation to the next appears to happen through experiences more than through spiritual meetings or formal teaching. Children and young people need to see a real God doing real things in real life situations.
So, pray with them in ways where they can see specific answers to prayer. Look for... pray for teachable moments where there are natural opportunities to teach something about the Lord. Dedicate each child to the Lord each new day. Take them with you to do acts of kindness in Jesus' Name. Go with them on family missions experiences. Make Jesus a natural part of the everyday life of your family. And if there are inconsistencies between your words and your life, please address those in Jesus' power - your legacy could be at stake. And if your efforts to date don't seem to have "taken," keep on sowing faithfully, believing that what you sow, you will reap, and "the one who sows to please the Spirit from the Spirit will reap eternal life" (Galatians 6:7-8).
Grandma's gone, but her flowers are still blooming. I pray that when you and I are gone, the beauty and fragrance of what we've sown in the lives of our children will still be beautifying another generation.