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Deuteronomy 11:19 – Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. (NLT)
Some called it "Founder's Day", while others simply referred to it as "Feast Day".
A church member extended an invitation for my wife and me to join them on their family property for "Feast Day". Neither my wife nor I understood what she was talking about, but we were looking forward to a Sunday meal. This couple, along with a number of family members, lived on a piece of property that had been purchased 70 years before by their travelling preacher ancestor.
The family patriarch had loaded up his wife and children in a 25-foot trailer turned into a box, and left Kentucky, unsure of where they would settle. At each church where he stopped to preach, he asked if there was any land available. Finally, in what is now Greenwood, South Carolina, USA, he was directed to a tract of land that was for sale.
Looking over the beauty of the land and believing that this was where God wanted him to settle, he drew up a contract between himself and God. If God would make the way for him to purchase the land, he and his family would gather once a year to celebrate God's goodness. God did, and his family has gathered annually for 70 years to honour their ancestor's contract … and to feast.
The nation of Israel observed several feasts during the year to celebrate various historical events. These celebrations helped the people — along with their children and grandchildren — to remember God's involvement in their lives. But there was one thing that they were to do every day: teach their posterity the laws of God.
Leaving behind a spiritual heritage won't just happen. It requires effort. I must be vigilant in living for the Lord and teaching my children and grandchildren to do the same. While my descendants have the free will to choose or reject God, they are more likely to choose Him if they see my love for Him and observe how I incorporate that love into my daily affairs. Even if they choose to walk away from their heritage, the foundation has been laid through my example and by my teaching God's commands to them.
Lead the way in helping your family feast on God's Word.
Prayer: Father, may we live in such a way that we leave a spiritual heritage to our posterity. Amen.
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Yes, Martin, may we always “feast” upon God’s Word. Blessings.
How true, Martin. Families forever!
Thanks for your message.
What a fascinating story
Thanks for sharing and the lesson that goes with it
Hi Martin,
A very interesting story indeed, it is so important, I think, to keep our history, both spiritual and actual alive for our ancestors.
Thank you for writing.
Thank you, Martin. Interesting how the history of Greenwood in your area compares so starkly from that of Greenwood in our province of BC, Canada. Although it is now an interesting, quaint little town touting “The Best Water in BC”…….it has a blotch in its history in that it served as an Internment camp for the Japanese people who were stripped of everything they owned……their homes, their businesses, their livelihood and sent there during WWII.
What an interesting experience. Thank you Martin; I always appreciate your insight.
Blessings.