There is something that has been on my mind lately…

If you really consider the church world we are living in today…

We are a generation that has inherited A LOT.

We inherited church buildings we didn’t build. Bibles translated into our language and songs we sing that were written before we were born.

We carry theologies wrestled with by men and women who spent their entire lives studying Scripture…

Ministries and houses of worship that somebody SACRIFICED to pay for.

REVIVALS and great moves of God somebody prayed and fasted for.

And probably MOST importantly…

We inherited the Gospel because somebody before us REFUSED to let it stop with them.

Somebody prayed…gave…taught a Sunday School class…loaded kids into a church van…stayed late and showed up early.

Somebody endured criticism and kept preaching when people weren’t listening.

Somebody stayed faithful when quitting would have been easier and more rewarding…

AND eventually…

THE GOSPEL MADE IT TO US.

That SHOULD humble us.

Because there is a dangerous place a church can get to where we love the BENEFITS of what previous generations built…but lose the convictions that caused them to build it.

We want Christianity as an INHERITANCE without Christianity as a RESPONSIBILITY…

Dang.

And that doesn’t work.

That’s a paper house.

Paul told Timothy…

“Guard, through the Holy Spirit who lives in us, that precious truth that has been entrusted to you.” — 2 Timothy 1:14 NLT

I love that word…

ENTRUSTED.

The Gospel was not merely GIVEN to us.

It was ENTRUSTED to us.

There’s a difference.

If I ENTRUST you with something, I expect you to take care of it…

So one of the questions every generation of Christians has to answer is:

WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO WITH WHAT WAS ENTRUSTED TO US?

Because we can admire people who sacrificed everything for Jesus while constructing a Christianity that requires almost nothing from us.

We can celebrate our HISTORY while abandoning our RESPONSIBILITY.

And eventually there will be another generation standing behind us.

Our children. Our grandchildren.

The kids running through the halls of our churches right now.

Psalm 78 says:

“We will not hide these truths from our children; we will tell the next generation about the glorious deeds of the LORD, about his power and his mighty wonders.” — Psalm 78:4 NLT

THAT is generational Christianity.

We received something…

And now we SEND IT FORWARD.

That’s why I refuse to look at children as an inconvenience to ministry.

THEY ARE THE MINISTRY.

The exhausted mom walking through the doors matters…

That dad trying to figure out how to lead his family matters…

Those kids worshiping beside us matter!!!

Because we aren’t merely building a church for THIS Sunday.

We are building something we pray will still be preaching JESUS long after we are gone.

“One generation commends your works to another; they tell of your mighty acts.” — Psalm 145:4 NIV

One generation…

TO ANOTHER.

We receive — We steward — We strengthen — We pass it on.

Because eventually, every generation becomes somebody else’s “previous generation.”

One day WE will be the old pictures.

WE will be the stories.

And I don’t just want the next generation to say…

“They had a great church.”

I want them to say…

“WE ARE CARRYING IT TOO.”

I’m just thinking out loud here.

I want our lives to COUNT.

I want what we do with our time, resources, churches, families, influence and faith to matter long after we’re gone.

But maybe legacy doesn’t start by looking years into the future.

Maybe it starts by looking DOWN.

At the little hands we hold.

The kids we pick up after youth service.

The teenager sitting in the back row.

The person God has placed right in front of us TODAY.

Maybe the question isn’t:

“What will people remember about me?”

Maybe the better question is:

“What am I willing to give to them?”

Are we willing to pour ourselves into people who may never know everything we sacrificed?

Are we willing to build something we may never get credit for?

Are we willing to make the name of JESUS so famous that our own name becomes secondary?

Because maybe that’s how you build a legitimate legacy.

Not by making sure people remember YOU…

But by giving them something worth carrying.

Church…

We did not inherit this Gospel so it could end with us.

Somebody carried it TO us.

Now it is our responsibility to carry it FORWARD.

Inheritance without stewardship eventually disappears.

I am willing to become a footnote in their story if it means JESUS becomes the headline.

Because maybe the greatest legacy we can leave…

Isn’t a name they remember.

It’s a FAITH they carry.

LET’S GIVE THEM SOMETHING WORTH CARRYING.