I love Sundays. Church is at 5:00 PM so I have most of the day to sit, settle, listen and be with God. Moving slowly makes me happy rather than the daily challenge of moving fast to catch up with myself. Today I am asking you to sit with me as I share my thoughts and God’s on the idea of inheritance.
It came to the forefront when I was reading these words from 1 Peter 1:3-5.
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5
Through new birth we receive living hope through Jesus’ resurrection. This leads to an inheritance. One that never fades or spoils. It is kept for us in heaven and shielded by God. What a gift!
For my parents’ generation, blessing us with an inheritance was part of their legacy. The importance of leaving a piece of themselves behind in this fashion was their gift to us. Not all families experience inheritance in this way, but what if we look at it differently. Instead of a monetary gift, what if we looked at it as our birthright, a provision, or legacy.
My parents left such a legacy. It looked like…
- The importance of family
- Loving God and others
- Genetic and personality traits (I favor my mom the most)
- The importance of education
- Grace to forgive and know how to extend this to others
- Provision of basic living skills so we could take care of ourselves when we left the nest
This is a small glimpse into the beautiful inheritance my parents left for my brothers and I.
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God also left us an amazing inheritance through His son, Jesus, and David shares some insight into this in Psalm 16.
“I said to the Lord, “You are my Master! Every good thing I have comes from you.”
Lord, you alone are my inheritance, my cup of blessing. You guard all that is mine. The land you have given me is a pleasant land. What a wonderful inheritance!
I will bless the Lord who guides me; even at night my heart instructs me.
I know the Lord is always with me.
I will not be shaken, for he is right beside me.
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice.
My body rests in safety.
For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.”
Psalms 16:2, 5-11 NLT
Our inheritance from God is knowing:
He is our cup of blessing.
God guards all that is ours.
He guides us and is always with us.
We are safe with God.
God will show us the way of life and provides unending joy when we invite Him to be part of our lives.
That is a legacy I can wrap my brain and heart around. What about you?
As you begin a new week, sit with God and rejoice in the inheritance He promises you. Embrace the joy of a life with God and the gift of His presence.
Blessings on your week!
Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
Mary such beautiful words filled with so much love.
You did a beautiful job of honoring your parents and sharing here about our inheritance with Him.
Love the sweet picture of your Mom and Dad. You do favor her!!
Thank you for these kind words! I love the picture of my parents. I am blessed that such a sweet legacy was left by my parents and that I have an inheritance from my Lord and Savior.
This is so hope-filled, Mary. I love the legacy your parents gave you. You must miss them so much. And there is such living hope in the inheritance God is keeping for us! I love your reflections on all these verses. Thank you for encouraging my heart! Love and hugs to you!
I do miss my parents but what I love is being able to write posts like this that allow me to recall these beautiful memories. Psalm 16 is becoming one of my favorites because of the richness of God’s word and all it teaches us. Blessings on your week!
Hi Mary! What a rich inheritance you have with your parents! I love the wedding photo you have here too. They are so happy! Who knew what was ahead of them, but they knew in Christ that it would be great.
“My body rests in safety.” Such wonderful, peaceful words. Studying and reading Scripture just fills with peace and joy. May those graces accompany you this week.
Blessings,
Ceil
I love the photo of my parents too. So much hope and promise! I am blessed to have had parents like mine who cared deeply for us. I am so glad you joined me here. I pray we all hold onto God’s promises as our own and know how much He desires to share them as His legacy to us.
Hi Mary … I love the idea of church in the evening … makes me recall our Saturday night house church with fondness.
And that you use this time to reflect, to write, to remember, to rest is a beautiful gift you give yourself and Him.
Thanks for sharing your Sabbath observations with us …
Saturday night house church sounds amazing. I love the thought of the intimacy that comes with a house church. Sabbath has truly become more of a Sabbath since church is in the evening. It is due to our location currently so when that changes we will probably be back to Sunday mornings. I am gong to enjoy this time for as long as I can.
Dear Mary,
What a beautiful perspective on the legacy of our inheritance! This is a perfect ending for all that I have been thinking about concerning my own family’s legacy also. Thank you so much for bringing it all back to Psalm 16 and the delightful inheritance our Lord has won for us.
I know you have been digging into legacy in your own family and I have loved reading your words. I hope you found something in these words today that tied it all together for you. Blessings on your week!
Mary,
I love the thought that God’s promises are our inheritance….what a bounty we have inherited. May we be good stewards to share those promises with those who come behind us….leaving that as our legacy.
Sunday blessings,
Bev xx
There is a call to action in our walk with God and when we accept his inheritance He does call us to be good stewards for the next generation. This makes me think of the IF Gathering that took place over the weekend. I hope you were able to watch some of this. The overall theme was discipleship and that our time is now to do the work of God. It was powerful. Praying you have a good week.
I did a study in Ruth once (Precepts, I think) that really focused on Jesus as our Kinsman Redeemer and the wonderful inheritance that is ours in Christ. I love your focus here on Psalm 16, Mary. Every good thing that we have comes from Jesus, Amen! Blessings on your Sabbath, sweet friend!
Don’t you love that term, Kinsman Redeemer? That is part of the Book of Ruth that has always stayed with me. You are right that we find a beautiful description of our inheritance in the Ruth. I am so glad that someone else had just posted Psalm 16 because it triggered something in me while writing about inheritance. Thank you for being here!
AMEN! Just what I needed to read to get my Sunday started.
I am so glad, Barbie! Thank you for reading and leaving a comment. I pray the rest of your Sunday was blessed. May this new week bring you many moments of joy!
You always speak of your parents with such love–and a touch of longing. What a tribute this is to their faithfully building so many good things into your character. And we have so much to be thankful for in our Heavenly Father’s legacy to us. As we move toward Ash Wednesday, I’m beginning John Piper’s book that considers 50 reasons why Jesus died for us — so good to ponder all the many facets of His love for us and God’s provision for us in the cross.
Thank you for noticing the deep love I have for my parents. I find a sense of longing that is greater somedays than others but I am deeply grateful for the legacy they left me. I am so blessed.
I am glad you pointed me back to God’s love and provision that came to us through His son, Jesus, dying on the cross. It’s hard to believe that we are approaching Ash Wednesday this week. I will be interested in hearing about John Piper’s book. I hope you write a review. Have a great week!
I like the idea of Sunday service at 5 pm so have the day to rest in His presence and then worship Him with others. “You will show me the way of life, granting me the joy of your presence and the pleasures of living with you forever.” There is such hope in that verse, for our inheritance and our every day living! One of my favourites.
Psalms 16:2, 5-11 NLT
It has been such a treat to savor my Sunday mornings. Someone else posted Psalm 16 recently in another group I am in and I was struck by the hope and promise that wove its way throughout the Psalm. It was exactly what I needed to hear. I pray we find comfort in knowing we have a beautiful inheritance in God’s promises. Blessings on your week!
“God will show us the way of life and provides unending joy when we invite Him to be part of our lives.” – Amen to that! How privileged we are to be under God’s grace.
So good to see you here today, Lux! We are extremely blessed to under God’s grace. May we keep the door open to God and all that He will do.