A Priceless Inheritance

All praise to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is by his great mercy that we have been born again, because God raised Jesus Christ from the dead. Now we live with great expectation, and we have a priceless inheritance —an inheritance that is kept in heaven for you, pure and undefiled, beyond the reach of change and decay. And through your faith, God is protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation, which is ready to be revealed on the last day for all to see. 1 Peter 1:3-5

YOU MAY OR MAY NOT be able to leave your children a financial inheritance. But if they are joined to Christ, you can be sure that they are heirs to a far greater inheritance than you could ever provide. Any wealth that we leave to our kids is vulnerable —vulnerable to misuse, unstable markets, theft, or lost value. But the inheritance that awaits our child who is united to Christ is beyond the reach of any force that would diminish or defile it.

The new birth brings our children into a new family in which they have a share in the greatest of all inheritances. It is being kept —not in a vault but in heaven, the place of ultimate security and wealth, the place of incredible joy and satisfaction. No one in God’s family will be disappointed when the inheritance is granted on the last day. We’ll be full of joy to receive all that God has for us and all he will be to us.

But God does more than keep an inheritance for us and for our children. He also keeps us for the inheritance. Through faith God is “protecting you by his power until you receive this salvation.” Your children’s salvation does not depend on their ability to hold on to Christ, but on Christ’s ability to hold on to them. Christ is keeping an inheritance for your child, and he is keeping your child for the inheritance.

I see your outstretched hands, Lord, reaching out to ________. In one hand you hold an inheritance, and in the other you hold ________. Both are safe with you. And when you come, you will bring the two together, and the inheritance will be ________’s to enjoy forever.