REFLECTIONS

The Inheritance

Just now, I find myself in an interesting phase of my journey. Not that the travels to this point have been uneventful; but the season looming before me presents unexpected demands. They make me feel like the rich man who heard Jesus’ terms to inherit eternal life. When the rich man heard the obstacles to overcome, he went away grieving, for he had many things.

As I enter the gates of the “golden years,” I feel a warm welcome from those who entered the season before me. And yes, like me, many of them faced the challenge to choose which treasures to keep and those to leave behind.

God warned, “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 your children and to their children after them.” (Deuteronomy 4:9-10)

So, it seems the most important treasures will help relate stories of God’s love for us and our love for each other. Treasures from our past serve as reminders of the legacies they represent in the stories that God encourages us to pass along.

My challenge though is to discern those that help tell God’s love stories. Those are the stories He wants us to never forget. Yet, I cherish other earthly things too, sometimes too much like the rich man who went away grieving because he had things he was unwilling to part with.

Then, Deuteronomy 5:14 says, “You shall have no other gods before me.” It sounds easy to turn loose of our earthly things, but it isn’t. Materiality, emotional attachment, and monetary value cloud our judgement. But we must never allow our treasures a place in our lives above God.

Isn’t that the inheritance God wants us to pass to our children and to their children after them.

You are the light of the world,

Richard + www.reflectingthesavior.org

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