2 Chronicles 6:9
“Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name.”
In a world that is so concerned with building a legacy, it is sad that very few people are concerned with building a spiritual legacy. I am not talking about a legacy where others talk about you after you are gone, but building a legacy where your children carry on how you lived for God and do greater works for Him after you are gone. If there is any type of legacy you should try to build, it should be a spiritual legacy.
David definitely built a spiritual legacy. David desired to build a house for God, but God had a better idea for him. God told David that he could not build a house because he was a man of war; but, God gave David a greater vision and that was to prepare his son to build the house after he was gone. The rest of David’s life was all about preparing for that house. He set aside gold and silver throughout his life so that his son would be able to build this house without being hindered by a shortage of materials. He prepared the plans for Solomon to follow, but the best preparation he made was in preparing and passing the vision onto his son. David built a spiritual legacy that Solomon knew he was to carry on, and I believe it helped Solomon to have a spiritual purpose for his life.
If you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you must live a godly life while you are alive. Too many young people learn worldliness from their parents then the parents wonder why their children go to the world after they’re grown. If you would live your life in such a manner that your children would see that serving God needs to be the focus of their life, you will have a better chance of them turning out right. Your children need to see your walk with God. They need to see that it is more than just a weekend appointment, but they need to see that it is a lifestyle to live.
Moreover, if you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you need to start building something for God now. If you were to die today, what have you built for God that your children would want to carry on? Have you built a Sunday school class that your children would want to keep going? Have you built a bus route that your children would want to take over to see those lives that were touched by your life to continue growing in the LORD? What are you building for God right now? Friend, there is no way you can build a spiritual legacy if you are not involved in your church.
Furthermore, building a spiritual legacy involves having a vision for God that you want to pass onto your children. You should desire for your children to serve God with their lives. I know I will take some criticism for this statement, but why are we lowering the bar for our children to serve in the world? Why not give your children a vision to serve the LORD in full-time service? You may not have been able to do this with your life, but you can give your children the vision to do this with their lives. If you are going to build a spiritual legacy, you must give your children a vision to give their lives to God to serve Him full-time. Let me encourage you to raise your expectations for your children and build a spiritual legacy by imparting to them a vision to serve the LORD full-time.