“I have no greater joy than to hear my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 4 NKJV.
Live to leave a Godly legacy to your family and Godly generations to come.
My thoughts and comments today are, “reflections about my dad.”
The Godly influence of my father in what I believe, what I do, and who I have become is undeniable, his significance to my life continuing long after his lifetime. Some time ago, I came across a yellowed note from my Mom, written twenty years earlier. As I read her words, I was unprepared for my emotional response. She wrote about our family and ministry, but these words leaped off the page and into my heart, “Your Dad would be so proud of you, as I am.”
You see my Dad died in a highway accident when I was just 21, newly married, and just a senior in college, and still my eyes became moist as I read those words. It was not a new revelation. My Dad showed and spoke often of his sentiments in our home. Yet somehow even now, those words of his pride stir something deep within my heart. I was not prepared for how such a simple statement of my parents’ feelings on a piece of yellowed stationery would still mean so much after all of these years since his death, and more recently hers.
Solomon wrote, “The father of the righteous has great joy; he who has a wise child delights in them.” Proverbs 23:24 NIV. You have the power to bless your parents with joy. I marvel at the profound truth that a father’s joy can touch your heart throughout both their lifetime and yours. At this mature stage of my life, being reminded of my Dad’s love and pride in me meant as much if not more, as it did when I was young and he was living.
My Dad left an exemplary spiritual legacy and from him I and our family have received a Godly heritage. Every parent has an opportunity to do the same. “For you, O God, have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.” Psalm 61:5 NIV. You may not have been given a spiritual heritage, but you can live to leave a Godly legacy to your family and the generations to come. A family’s future doesn’t have to replicate its history. A Godly, family heritage can begin with a new spiritual legacy, starting today with you.
John’s words ring true, “I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth.” 3 John 4 NKJV. Whatever accomplishments with which God has since graced my life, my Dad would be most proud that I carry on the faith I learned at his knee and from his pulpit. He was both my Dad and my pastor.
Imagine how Jesus felt at the Jordan River when hearing God declare, “This is My beloved Son, in Whom I am well pleased.” You can feel His Father’s joy and delight, and realize the emotional and spiritual strengthening that Jesus experienced as He purposed to do the Father’s will. The Father’s pride was more in who Jesus was, than what He would do.
Now as a Dad, grandfather, and great grandfather, I know what such delight feels like. When I see the good and Godly man, husband, and dad (and now grandfather) that our son has become, and the Godly woman, wife, and mom that our daughter has become, and young adult grandchildren who love and live for Jesus, Gayle and I are grateful to God for His kindness to the Randolph families, and anticipate future generations yet to be.
Joy and delight hardly describes the satisfaction that we find in knowing our children and their spouses along with our grandchildren are committed to walking in righteousness and Godly wisdom. Whatever any of them achieve in life will be secondary to our thankfulness that they have embraced our faith, and will give the legacy of that faith to their families. I guess I could have titled my comments, “Legacy and Heritage,” but I was really just reflecting about my Dad and the generations that follow his faith.
Today, my prayer for you is that you will live wisely and walk faithfully in God’s truth.