The Most Valuable Legacy

by Dr. Paul Chappell

“Blessed is every one that feareth the LORD; that walketh in his ways. For thou shalt eat the labour of thine hands: happy shalt thou be, and it shall be well with thee. Thy wife shall be as a fruitful vine by the sides of thine house: thy children like olive plants round about thy table. Behold, that thus shall the man be blessed that feareth the LORD.”

Psalm 128:1–4

At the time of his death in 1913, John Pierpont Morgan was one of the richest men in the world. He was renowned in the world of finance for his ability to put together corporate deals, like his pivotal role in the creation of General Electric and U. S. Steel. Morgan almost single-handedly ended the financial crisis known as the Panic of 1907 by supporting the banks that were on the verge of failing and working with others to prop up companies that would otherwise have gone bankrupt.

Morgan was renowned for his philanthropy, supporting museums and hospitals, and was a major contributor to his church. His priorities and goals for the future were revealed in his will, which began with these words: “I commit my soul into the hands of my Saviour in full confidence that having redeemed it and washed it in His most precious blood, He will present it faultless before the throne of my Heavenly Father, and I entreat my children to maintain and defend at any cost of personal sacrifice the blessed doctrine of the complete Atonement for sin through the blood of Jesus Christ once offered, and through that alone.”

Most of us will not leave billions of dollars to our descendants. But all of us can leave them a heritage of faith and love for God and a knowledge of His salvation. There is no greater inheritance than the testimony of a faithful life spent in service to God and a faith that reaches across the generations.

Today’s Growth Principle: 

There is no financial legacy we can leave behind that compares to the legacy of faith in God.