LEGACY GIFTING, Part 2
Christmas is that time of the year when giving is celebrated. Yet, I remember when, as a young child, I discovered there was no Jolly Old St. Nick making toys all year in the faraway North Pole.
My toy giver was my parents, who had very little money to purchase toys. Ouch! In fact, one year our gifts were repossessed. No Santa, no hope. Now I fully comprehend that legacy gifts are more important than Christmas gifts once a year.
One generation legacy gifting to the next generation is like a bridge connecting one side to the other. The sound, secure bridge from parent to child is every bit as difficult as any concrete bridge in the world to build. Thankfully, generational bridge-building within a family is far more important than bridge building that connects an island to a mainland.
If we look around us, legacy gifting is not just a theoretical premise. Famous families give evidence and proof to this… for good or for bad. In the Bible (Ezek. 18:2), there is a proverb: “The fathers eat the sour grapes, but the children’s teeth are set on edge.” In other words, children get the sour taste in their mouth, and the sins of the parent can be passed to the second, third, even fourth generation.
However, this is only true if the child takes on the sins of the fathers. If the child chooses to follow another path, he can confess the parent’s sins and choose to be forgiven himself (II Kings 14:6). How gracious is God!
