{"id":4700,"date":"2017-10-19T14:18:44","date_gmt":"2017-10-19T19:18:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/thedisciplemaker.org\/?p=4700"},"modified":"2017-10-19T14:18:44","modified_gmt":"2017-10-19T19:18:44","slug":"leaving-a-spiritual-legacy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.navpress.com\/sites\/thedisciplemaker\/2017\/10\/leaving-a-spiritual-legacy\/","title":{"rendered":"Leaving a Spiritual Legacy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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How do you leave a spiritual legacy? Earlier this year, the mother of a friend of mine passed away. My friend received a couple of her mother\u2019s Bibles as keepsakes. One was the Bible her mother had received when she was confirmed. The other was the Bible her mother had used as an adult. My friend cherishes these Bibles, but she finds herself wishing her mother had written more in them: highlights or notes\u2014anything that pointed her to the verses that meant the most to her mother.
\nThat got me thinking. What treasures will my Bible hold for those who receive it when I am gone?<\/strong> The idea of a legacy Bible is new to me, but the idea of leaving a spiritual legacy is not. Here\u2019s what
\nAsaph, the writer of Psalm 78, wrote about leaving a legacy:<\/p>\n

I will open my mouth with a parable; I will utter hidden things, things from of old\u2014 things we have heard and known, things our ancestors have told us.
\nWe will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next generation the praiseworthy deeds\u00a0of the\u00a0Lord, his power, and the wonders\u00a0he has done.
\nHe decreed statutes\u00a0for Jacob and established the law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors 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.
\nThen they would put their trust in God and would not forget\u00a0his deeds but would keep his commands.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Every parent is a missionary, and our mission field is our children.<\/strong> God\u2019s plan, even in Old Testament times, was for parents to pass on the faith to their children and their children\u2019s children. This happens in numerous concrete ways over the years of our children\u2019s lives, and one way is through a Legacy Bible.
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\nAnd in fact, if you think about it, the Bible itself is already a legacy. It tells the story of God\u2019s saving work for the people of Israel, and how that spread to the whole world. In truth, the Bible is the legacy we ourselves have received from our spiritual ancestors. So when we add our own notes to the Bible, we are adding to the legacy that started long before us and will continue long after. Our own legacy Bible marks our part in God\u2019s bigger story.
\nThere are many creative ways we can bring Scripture into our own story. Here\u2019s a few ideas that could get you started:<\/p>\n