Godly Legacies

"The righteous shall be in everlasting remembrance" (Psalm 112:6b).

"And he did evil in the sight of the Lord," read my youngest son out loud as we studied the kings of Israel and Judah in our homeschool Bible curriculum. After reading the same sad statement in regard to three or four more kings, my son looked at me with a sober face and said, "Mom, weren't there any kings who did good in the sight of the Lord?"

"Yes," I replied. "As a matter of fact, there was a king named Josiah, and he was only eight years old when he became king. The Bible says he was different than the evil kings before him, 'and he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in all the way of David his father, and turned not aside to the right hand or to the left' (2 Kings 22:2). Because he brought the people of Judah back to God and destroyed all the false gods they had been worshipping, King Josiah is forever remembered as a good king."

I could see my young son deep in thought before he turned to me and said, "Wow, I wonder what they'll write about me in the Bible after I'm dead!"

The story of King Josiah's life is an inspiration to all who read it because when Josiah heard the Word of God, he repented and made a covenant with God to serve the Lord with all his heart and soul and obey God's holy law (2 Kings 23:3). Because of his decision, the people also entered into the same covenant, and the nation was cleansed from its ungodly practices.

Legacies are not only for kings in Old Testament times. As a Christian, you will someday leave a legacy behind, too, when God chooses to take you home to heaven. If the story of your life was included in the Bible, how would you be remembered — as a man or woman who served the Lord faithfully with all your heart and soul, or as someone who did evil in the sight of the Lord? "Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us" (Hebrews 12:1a).

Father, thank You for preserving Your written Word, so I can learn from those who went before me. Help me to remain faithful in homeschooling and in serving You, so I can leave a godly legacy to all those who come after me. In Jesus' name, Amen.