Therefore go and make disciples of all nations. (Matt. 28:19)
DO YOU HAVE ANY HEIRLOOMS in your family? Maybe a set of your grandmother’s dishes? A Bible passed from grandfather to son or daughter and to third or fourth generations? I have a watch that belonged to my great-grandfather. My friend has a letter written by one of his ancestors, a soldier serving in the American Civil War more than 150 years ago. These items may not be valuable in their own right, but valued because of their association.
You have been given a trust, a keepsake, an heirloom of priceless value. You are a holder, a guardian of the true faith in Jesus Christ. You are the generation that holds this trust right now. It’s your turn to take it. To keep it. To guard it.
Will you receive the true faith in Jesus? Will you guard it? And will you pass it on intact to the next generation? You won’t be able to endure in the race if you don’t understand the significance of the prize.
The most valuable item is not an object. It is the true faith. It is yours now. You have to keep it, guard it, and pass it on.
I want you to feel how precious is this gift you have been given, what a grave responsibility you have in keeping it, honoring it, and passing it on, and how exciting it is to know that God will make His church grow.
Consider three things that help you keep your eyes on the prize.
Lawrence W. Wilson is a pastor, author, and blogger from Fishers, Indiana. He is the author of A Different Kind of Crazy: Living the Way Jesus Lived (WPH).
