It’s not what you gather, but what you scatter

that tells what kind of life you have lived.”

— Helen Walton

Your grandchildren are picking up on what you value by watching what you do and listening to what you say. Our influence on future generations – what we leave behind – is our spiritual legacy. You can leave behind jewelry that gets lost, heirlooms that break, coins that sit in a drawer. But the impact of your values, the way you followed Jesus and the stories they tell about you can last in your family for generations.

A spiritual legacy is built up over years.  Fortunately, we can promote the spiritual legacy we want our children and grandchildren to remember us by. Let’s start to evaluate our spiritual legacy using the 4 categories below and see what our grandchildren are likely to remember us for.

1. A blank space.

“I want my kids to think for themselves.”

“My dad pounded religion into my head and I’m not going to do that to my family.”

If you don’t say anything to your grandchildren about God or what character traits are worth pursuing, they simply won’t know what you believed. This is especially true if you’re a long-distance grandparent.

Growing up, I lived several states away from all my grandparents and both my grandfathers died when I was in elementary school. That means most of what I inherited spiritually has been pieced together with clues. The fact that they both married their wives in a Methodist church. The fact that I ended up with a cross that belonging to one grandpa. But was Jesus important to them?

As they mature, kids are looking for direction about what’s important. Your values can be a comforting wall to lean against as they try to figure out what gives life meaning and  what their purpose is on Earth. Think of all the other places that do want to influence your grandchildren and are actively working to win them over. It’s really a kindness to teach your grandchildren what you know is true.

2. A non-religious spiritual legacy.

I know lots of people who will say “I grew up Catholic” (or Baptist or whatever) “but I don’t go to church anymore”. I know others who pull out the God card at a funeral, explaining that “grandma died and went to Heaven to be with grandpa”. End of discussion.

In other words, vaguely acknowledging a Higher Power, but not pursuing Jesus or working to be like Him. Not reading the Bible. Too distracted and detached to be bothered. Until the end.

If this is you, you can still do better than leaving a blank. Talk about why you don’t go to church. Did you ever go and why did you stop? What do you wish church was like?

What character values do you think are important? I mean, a lot of us have worked at jobs teaching, fighting fires, and serving in the military. There is probably a “values” aspect as to why you chose a job like that. Tell your grandchildren stories about helping others and what you learned as you tried to be one of the good guys.

Do you think that God exists? Have you had any close encounters with death that you were spared from? Is it important to be honest? Hard working? Talk about these things to your grandchildren. Because they are being introduced to a lot of new ideas from Tik Tok and their friends at school. How nice to have someone older and wiser, who has their best interest at heart, give them some advice about what’s important!

3. A strong spiritual legacy.

These grandparents attend church and go to the Senior Saints get togethers. They say grace at meals, and you know you can ask them to pray when things go wrong. You see Bibles out at their house.

I remember visiting my grandma after she had moved into a studio apartment at a senior living center. She had this immense Bible on her coffee table. It had a section in front where she had listed marriages, births and deaths of her family members. To me, as a child, it held the mysteries of the ages. God’s Word. I could just feel our family under God’s watchful eye as I looked at the Bible.

One important thing you can do is share stories about your spiritual journey including things you didn’t understand but do now. In addition, your grandkids will love stories about you going to church as a kid (my brother and I always had to be separated because we laughed so much).  When the occasion arises talk about people you know who have died and what you think heaven is going to be like. This is the “good stuff” you can help them with as a grandparent.

Spiritual legacy of prayer: Encourage kids to pray at mealtimes. Check in frequently about what they want prayers for. As they grow up, I can’t wait to partner with my grandchildren in praying for their concerns. I want to show them how to pray for their family, school, friends and maybe even me. So, we can see God’s answers to prayer together.

Over time, a spiritual legacy like this is going to point your grandkids towards Christ.

Psalm 71:18 ESV

So even to old age and gray hairs,
O God, do not forsake me,
until I proclaim your might to another generation,
your power to all those to come.

4. A powerful spiritual influence.

These grandparents know Jesus and they want their grandchildren to know Him, too.

God has a lot to say about grandparenting. In a way, He has assigned grandparents the job of promoting His legacy of love and faithfulness. We do this in the same way pass on our own legacy: by our actions, by our stories and by the way we love.

If you’re interested, try this post about all of the Bible verses about grandparents.

I want to help my grandchildren develop strong spiritual roots. Showing them how to apply Bible lessons to their lives (especially character qualities).  I want them to know that I love them, and that Jesus loves them more. I also want them to know that Jesus has a plan for their lives.

For that reason, while my grandchildren are little, we sing Bible songs in the car. We watch Good News Guys on TV, and we pray together at meals and at bedtime. I hope, after I’m gone, they can still hear me singing This Little Light of Mine.

As they get older, I am excited to share with them stories about they ways God intersects my. I am committed to praying for them every day.

A legacy like this will stem from your own relationship with Jesus. The more we become like Jesus the more we model His qualities of love, joy, kindness, strength and compassion. We become a powerful spiritual force who is human enough to bring our grandkids in for a hug.

Your spiritual legacy can start small and build up over time.  You can take it a bit at a time as you are ready. Talk to Jesus about a good next step. But the thing is, start now so when you come to the end, you have no doubts that you have left your grandchildren a rich spiritual legacy.

I believe God has a special plan for the generation of children being born right now. He wants children who have been raised in prayer so He can bless their communities through them. They will be showered in God’s favor because they will seek Him and obey Him and never stray far from Him. Not one will be lost. As grandparents we get to pray God’s will into existence.

What an exciting legacy to leave for our grandchildren.