On the Friday of camp I did a devotion with the kids that was about legacy. Some of us receive beautiful legacies – like quilts from great grandparents or a musical talent – and some of us receive bad ones – like anger, abandonment, fear, hatred, etc. For my illustration of this I had a kid hold his hands over a bowl and I poured catsup, salad dressing, oatmeal, candy sprinkles, and potting soil over his hands. The kids thought that was really gross. (Yep.) We talked about how Jesus could wash us of all those bad things and give us a new legacy to leave to our children and grandchildren.
I was thinking of several legacies in the Bible. Noah’s sons watched him stand in faith for decades building a boat in the middle of the desert – a legacy of faith. Isaac favored Esau over Jacob, who then favored Rachel over Leah – a legacy of unfairness passed down to their children. The stories don’t end there, but it does lead us to ask: what legacies do we want to leave behind, and what do we want to give to others?
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
Thank you for the legacies of faith, grace, and hope you give to us through faith in Jesus Christ. Help us to surrender to you the negative legacies we’ve inherited, like fear, unforgiveness, anger, etc., and instill within us the courage to live the New Life in Christ so we pass that good legacy on to our (spiritual or physical) children and grandchildren.
In Christ’s name we pray,
Amen.
“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!” (2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT)
