Saturday, February 28, 2009
Her Legacy
(Proverbs 31:28-31)
It has rightly been said that the true test of an individual’s worth is what he (or she) leaves behind—his legacy. Biblically speaking, the importance of “legacy” has little relation to leaving money or an estate, though it is proper to leave material provision for our children (Prov. 13:22). In the biblical sense, godliness is the most important legacy for us to leave to the next generation and to generations to come.
Ultimately, the virtuous woman’s worth is not reckoned by frenetic activity. It is possible to be too busy—so busy as to do everything without really leaving anything of lasting value behind. What do I mean by lasting value? I’m referring to your children.
The virtuous woman’s legacy consists of the approbation of her children—they “arise up, and call her blessed.” Whatever her faults may have been, they fade into oblivion in the minds of her children. She was more than a mother; she was a teacher, guide, and friend. Her image remains the most sacred icon in her son’s Parthenon of heroes. Her influence continues as the sweetest and gentlest breath of grace ever experienced by her daughter. Put in unadorned English, her children will forever declare her, “The best mother ever!”
Nothing, really, is better than the undying love of a child. Nothing can bless the lonely hours of the twilight years like knowing your children love you. And nothing—absolutely nothing—can reach beyond the grave to the very courts of heaven like a child’s love for his virtuous mother!
