A Legacy of Faith

“My most cherished possession I wish I could leave with you is my faith in Jesus Christ, for with him and nothing else you can be happy, but without him and with all else you’ll never be happy.”  Patrick Henry

I send mixed messages.

If you read the letters I write to my son, for him to read one day when he is older, you will hear my hopes for him to have a life of faith. You will even hear panic rise in my voice as I plead for him to follow Christ and live his life for God. Nothing matters more to me than my son knowing and loving the Lord.

If you listen in to our conversations during the day or at bedtime when we snuggle up and talk, you will hear me teach him all I can about God and who Christ is. You will hear me explain Christianity and teach him how to pray.

But if you watch me live my life, you will see me falter. If you watch me teach my son through my actions, you will see my weaknesses.

As I live each day, and whisper my prayers to God, I can see myself falling into the very trap I pray my son will never fall into – the pursuit of happiness.

One of the greatest dangers to our lives of faith is to be distracted by the veil of comfort and happiness that we have here in North America. It is so easy to be caught up in “the pursuit of happiness” that we forget the spiritual battle that is going on around us.

While I write and teach him, “Life is not about our happiness,” does my life really witness that belief?

As a mom, I find it difficult. My natural instinct is to see my son happy and comfortable. I don’t want him to suffer or go without. But when I stop and think about it, I know that I don’t want to sacrifice his soul and his spiritual growth for temporary bliss.

I indulge him too much. I love him so much that I spoil him - which is foolish of me because the most loving thing to do is not to spoil him. But this lesson goes beyond what I give him; it is about life and what we focus on.

Because my most fervent prayer for my son is that he grows to know, love and honour God and live sacrificially, my challenge is how best to teach and prepare him.

I need to daily look to the Word and remember there is so much going on that we can’t see. There is a battle of good and evil. There is an eternity that we need to be preparing for. It is not all about what is happening down here. My concerns as a mother go beyond his schooling and his career path. My deepest concern is a life of genuine faith.

It is easy to lose focus and think too much about our daily needs and comforts. Of course, as mothers, it is our duty to see that our family’s needs are met. But while God knows that we need to deal with these matters, he even promises to meet them for us, we must keep our eyes fixed on Him and on eternity. If we drop our glance and focus on this world, we will lose the true meaning of life.

And, most of all, we will miss out on what we really want to be giving our children. Nothing matters more than our children knowing and loving the Lord.

“Only be careful, and watch yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or let them slip from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to you children and to their children after them.”  Deuteronomy 4:9

Dear Heavenly Father,
I have failed you and the job you have given me as a mother. I too often allow my eyes to slip from you and fall to the things of this world. Please, Lord, forgive me and restore me so that I may honor you and model a faithful life as a witness for my child.

Discussion: What legacy are you leaving your children? How can you pass on an authentic faith to your loved ones?