Passing on the Family Destiny

Yesterday in my daily devotion, I read the story about King David's instructions to his heir, soon-to-be-king Solomon.

David wanted to build a temple to the LORD God, but God forbade him. He was a man of war and his son, Solomon, would be a man of peace (Solomon derives from shalom). The man of peace would build the temple, not the man of war. But while Solomon would build the temple after David's death--a temple David would never see--David was all excited about the prospects.

David commanded to gather together the aliens who were in the land of Israel, and he set stonecutters to prepare dressed stones for building the house of God. David also provided great stores of iron for nails for the doors of the gates and for clamps, as well as bronze in quantities beyond weighing, and cedar timbers without number.... (1Chronicles 22:2-4a)

When David died, Solomon inherited his title, his wealth, and his kingdom. And Solomon inherited a task, a project. In a sense, he inherited a destiny.

If you've lost your parents as I have, you may know all about inheriting houses and wealth and you surely know about inheriting stuff. The house gets sold and turned into cash. The cash is invested or spent. And the stuff... Heavens to Murgatroyd! What do you do with all the stuff?! You take some, your siblings take some, your kids take some, ebay takes some, and the local thrift stores take a ton. And sooner or later everything is gone. That's the way with stuff which is why it's such a mistake to build a life on creating consumerism. As singer/songwriter Bruce Cockburn wrote, "Everything that exists in time runs out of time someday."

But a project, a task, a destiny doesn't exist in time the same way stuff does. It doesn't get used up. It gets worked on and accomplished.

I have no grand building project or family business to pass on to my son. You probably don't have those either. We do, however, have the opportunity even if our children are grown of handing them the work of faith, family, and a life of virtue--things they can in turn leave unfinished to their children. It's the way a family history of faith, hope, and love is built, a history that lasts forever.