A Family Heirloom

A few months ago, a client was sharing with me her excitement about the recent gift she had received from her father. It wasn’t a new car or some great amount of cash. Instead it was the family heirloom photo albums. Even as she relayed the story to me, her eyes filled with tears of joy and memories. Why?

The answer was not in the value of the books but the treasure they held. These were hundred-year-old photos that had been carefully bound in four engraved leather albums. Even her friends who had viewed the pages of these magnificent books had stood in awe of the history represented in the tattered black and white portraits of her great-great-grandfathers, uncles, aunts, and other relatives.

Some family heirlooms are quite valuable, like a fine antique piece of furniture or an original painting, yet families wouldn’t think of selling them. They safeguard them to be passed on to the next generation. In the same way, every Christian parent holds another treasure to be passed on to their children. It is the most important treasure that we oversee, one of matchless value: the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Recently a dear friend of mine shared some exciting news, some life changing news. On Sunday her family attended church service, a regular routine for her family. This Sunday, the Pastor shared the birth of Jesus from the word of God ending with a challenge to the congregation to come forward and lay their paper heart names in the manger as they gave their hearts to Christ for the first time. My friend was pleasantly surprised when both her young elementary aged sons stood up and walked to the large manger. There they gave their hearts. You do know that heaven celebrated!

All those priceless nights of sharing the gospel through family devotions and prayers had prepared her sons for this very moment. God’s Word is our unique family heirloom, our priceless family heirloom that we have the obligation of safekeeping and passing on to our children.

This Christmas make Jesus the center of your celebration. Give your family the gift of the gospel. We know we can’t save our children but we can keep them saturated in the gospel. And as we do, we have this confidence: God is able and willing to save them. Hold tight with Faith to this hope, that through the gospel being declared in your home, the Holy Spirit will stimulate the hearts of your children and lead them to faith alone, in Christ alone, by grace alone! Merry Christmas!