A POSITIVE MARITAL LEGACY

Be an example to all believers in what you say, in the way you live, in your love, your faith, and your purity. (1 Timothy 4:12)

What kind of legacy will you leave your children? When you die, you will leave some material legacy: money, clothes, furniture, cars, and so forth. But the most powerful legacy you will leave you children is the legacy of your “MARRIAGE”. John buried his seventy-eight-year-old father a year after his mother passed away. His father had lived in a nursing home for several years, and his money had run out. He had no financial legacy to leave.

Before he died, John recalled, “he told me he wanted me to have his wedding band. After his death, when I went to the nursing home, they gave me a bag with dad’s clothes. At the bottom, was a small plastic bag containing his wedding band. Now that ring is on my dresser. I look at it every day and remind myself of dad’s faithful marriage to mom for over fifty years. I think about all he did for me when I was young, and I pray that I will be the kind of husband and father he was.”

John’s words speak to a legacy far more valuable than material property. The apostle Paul wrote to Timothy, encouraging him to be an example in the way he lived, believed, and loved. That’s a challenge to us as well. What will your children think someday when they look at your wedding ring?

P R A Y E R

Lord Jesus, I want to leave a positive legacy. Please help my spouse and me to love each other well, even as we weather challenges in our relationship. May those around us see our marriage and be encouraged.