The Legacy You Leave

All these were the children of Asher, heads of their fathers’ houses, choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders. And they were recorded by genealogies among the army fit for battle; their number was twenty-six thousand.

1 Chronicles 7:40

A “last will and testament” has been used for centuries in the West to mark the orderly transition of property from one generation to the next. But there are some things that cannot be bequeathed by a legal document.

Several generations after Asher (son of Jacob) died, it was said of his thousands of descendants that they were the heads of their homes, “choice men, mighty men of valor, chief leaders.” But in the latter history of Asher’s descendants comes the warning that character is not a birthright—it must be developed and maintained. Asher’s descendants ultimately failed to drive the Canaanites out of their assigned tribal land, and by David’s time they were not even mentioned in the list of his chief rulers (1 Chronicles 27:16-22). That omission is an indication that a godly heritage can vanish if it is not preserved.

As for the legacy you leave, make sure it influences as many generations as possible in both substance and example.

This is all the inheritance I can give to my dear family. The religion of Christ can give them one which will make them rich indeed.

PATRICK HENRY