The Potential for Heritage

Reading through Genesis continues to surprise me. This morning, I read these words:

"Two nations are in your womb..." (Gen 25:23)

Rebekah (wife of Isaac, Abraham's son) was pregnant with twins. The children were struggling so much that she took her concerns to the Lord. "Why?" What did it mean? 

God was clear. The children in her womb weren't just babies. They were nations. 

Ponder that for a moment.

Psalm 139 tells us that God not only knows us in our mother's womb, he knows our "inward parts" because He formed them. He "knit us together", putting all the parts together to make something perfect and beautiful. He knows about the days of our lives, including how many there are. (Ps. 139:16... more on that tomorrow)

When Rebekah approached God about the struggle of her unborn children, she saw them only as pre-born babies. 

God, however, saw the children and the kind of heritage they would leave behind.

He knew one would be stronger than the other. He knew the older would serve the younger. Rebekah didn't have to orchestrate it. It already was. 

God knew the two boys would be born with the potential to father "nations".

I cannot begin to debate the question of predestination and choice, but this is what I know with certainty.

Adam and Eve, in the garden, had the potential to choose sin or not. Either choice took them in a certain direction. God knew their possibilities. Did He know what they would choose when He created them? I don't know. 

I believe He knew their possibilities and the heritage they could leave behind. Just like He knows that about each of us.

We, you and I, are building a heritage for those who remain after our life has ended. We can leave a heritage built on shifting sand or solid rock. Which will it be?

Will we leave a heritage of material wealth or a heritage of faith? Will we leave the heritage of a world changed for God or a world that is relatively untouched?

We can make a difference, but not if we live life focused on ourselves and our desires. 

Look up. Seek God. Look around. See our neighbors. Their is great need and great possibility. There are things only you can do. Only I can do. 

Life is short, but not too short to make a difference in the world around us. Not too short to leave a heritage that will impact generations yet to come. 

Make a choice. Make a start. Make a heritage worth leaving.

We can change the world. If we will.

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In case you missed one of this week's posts, here are the links: Out with the Old, Freedom and Grace, Walking with God or Hiding with the World,  The Same Jesus, The God Who Never Fails, Halfway to Canaan, and The Blessing Jar.

#heritage #leaveaheritage #makeadifference #disciple #Christian