August 6, 2020

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise” (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).
Lloyd Alter writes about passing on family heirlooms:
I don’t like clutter. Yet cluttering up my dining room is an old cabinet filled with teacups and dishes that belonged to my late mother-in-law… My daughter was just setting up house, so at least the dining room set and sideboard found a home. But for many people, it’s not so easy. Most baby boomers are already established and don’t need more stuff when they inherit it from their parents. Their millennial kids either don’t like it or don’t have a place to put it. (Mother Nature Network, 2-27-17)
One financial advisor says:
Tastes and the people who think about stuff has changed. With today’s disposable culture, it’s cheaper to buy a sofa from IKEA than it is to hire a truck for grandma’s giant sofa. An antique dealer said: “I don’t think there is a future for the possessions of our parents’ generation. It’s a different world.” (preachingtoday.com)
So, I take it that I can’t expect to pass on my stuff to my insensitive and non-sentimental children. Where is their heart for MY stuff? Do they really want IKEA when they could have my old Lazy Boy, springs and all, well broken… in?
Seriously, our children may not want our keepsakes. That’s all right. However, one thing we must pass on to them is the Faith and salvation alone through Jesus Christ. I am not really concerned to pass on stuff. I am vitally concerned to pass on the Savior, the One who is “the way, the truth, and the life and no one comes to the Father except through Him” (John 14:6). Children do not need family heirlooms. But they do need to be in God’s forever family!
Pastor Steve