Legacies!

Legacies!

‭Proverbs 23:24 AMP‬

[24] ¶The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice,And he who sires a wise child will have joy in him.

In some versions of the bible, the verse above is one of the 30 sayings of the wise. All of the wise sayings have generational impact and many speak to power of legacies. Again, it has to be emphasized that God loves to do generational things. As I read the verse again, the importance of the right legacy is laid out clearly. How does a man become the father of a righteous man if he himself does not know the way of righteousness? It takes a man who knows where he is going to also lead others in the same path. A man cannot give what he does not have. Now, there are times when by God's mercy, a man who has not had the grace to be taught the way of the Lord may come in contact with the grace of salvation, but the responsibility of fatherhood requires that I ask God for the grace required for me to discharge the responsibility the right way. 

To father a child in the way of the Lord will take a lot of things from me, and that is why it seems that many are failing. It takes a lot of sacrifice to be able to model good behaviour for children to emulate. There will be things a father would have to deny himself, if he wants his child to learn the right way. One way to model good behaviour is to present and available in the lives of the children. It is hard to model good behaviour from a distance, or to just tell a child what is right and proper. An example is usually easier to emulate, than to speak of what good looks like. Of course, to model good behaviour is also a function of time, resources and prayers. You do your bit as a parent, and you also watch and pray, that the child will see and appreciate the examples you are laying down, and seek to follow them. Just as it works for you, so does it work for the children: you can only go so far as to show the right example: the child has a part to play in accepting the example and living by it. 

The end result of the right teaching and example is seen in the verse above: JOY. Thus is far more than just a feeling; it is an atmosphere that is charged, and that brings peace to the heart of a parent. You see your child walking in faith, trusting God for each step of life, and you know God has got that child. When the bible charges parents to train up a child in the way he should go, it is because the end of such training is peace and joy. You have passed on God's legacy of  righteousness to the next generation, which will also ensure that the generation after them also hears and responds to the Word of God. The fear of the Lord remains the beginning of wisdom. It is the start point of all the benefits that are laid out in the verse above. What is the state of your heart? Do you know Him? Can God trust you with the lives of the next generation, of the people He is seeking to entrust with the riches of heaven? God's time of favour is here.