Five Areas of Focus for Leaving a Legacy

The thought of building a legacy of faith from generation to generation sounds great, but I’m sure you’re probably asking yourself, “How do I begin?” It’s actually a great question to ask mentors in your own life. As you build your family legacy, I suggest thinking about the spiritual, relational, physical, emotional, and mental characteristics of your life. What kind of legacy do you want to leave with your children in these five areas of life? Here are some goals you might want to pursue. As you review them, I’m sure you’ll want to add more specific practical ideas of your own.

Spiritual

To love and obey, God, teach integrity, value involvement in a church, grow in faith, learn and live by the Bible, develop a biblical worldview, be a disciple of Christ, serve others.

Relational

Times of fun and laughter, family bonding vacation times, recreation times together, ability to resolve conflict with family member, listening skills, how to treat the opposite sex, developing lasting friendships, investing in the lives of others.

Physical

Eat healthy foods, manage stress, exercise, financial integrity and stewardship, cleanliness and health issues, how to work hard, how to budget your financial resources.

Emotional

Build healthy friendships, find times of rest and replenishment, build confidence and a healthy self-image, build trust and unconditional love, develop character traits such as discipline, perseverance, courage, and purity.

Mental

Read good books, learn new skills, write and discuss ideas, discover how to think critically, become skilled at planning, learn decision-making skills.

These are good starting points for identifying what you want to teach your children. However, try hard not to overwhelm them or be overwhelmed yourself. Something is better than nothing, and those who don’t aim at anything won’t find their way.

The great philosopher Soren Kierkegaard, told a story about ducks that came from an imaginary country where only ducks live. One Sunday morning, all the mother and father ducks headed to church with their children waddling behind them. They entered the doors and sat in their duck pews, sang songs from their duck hymnals, and gave to underprivileged ducks at the offering time.

When the duck preacher got up to proclaim the message, he was very dynamic. He opened his duck Bible and screamed, “Ducks, you can fly! You have wings and you can fly like eagles.” The ducks all chanted, “We can fly, we can fly!” He asked, “Do you believe you can fly?” Again, they shouted back, “We can fly, we can fly.” He screamed again, “We can soar through the skies!” They all shouted, “Amen.”

With that the pastor closed his duck Bible and dismissed his congregation of ducks. Then they all waddled back home.

Your words are important, but they can only go so far. So much of the work of passing on a legacy of faith takes place when we model it ourselves and believe in our children. To do that, we must make sure that we as parents are working on the issues within our own lives. If we do not, the message to our children will be very similar to that of the duck pastor. After he told them they could fly, he needed to show them by spreading his own wings and soaring above the clouds.

Our children were meant to soar—and they can. It will take a plan, intentionality, and help from above. But I believe you can lead the way for your children and make a generation difference for lifetimes to come.

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By Jim Burns, Ph.D
In response to the overwhelming needs of parents and families, Jim Burns founded HomeWord in 1985. HomeWord is a Christian organization designed to provide assistance to adults worldwide as they help young people make wise decisions and lead positive, vibrant, Christian lifestyles.

Printed by permission of HomeWord.  For additional information on HomeWord, visit www.homeword.com or call 800-397-9725.

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