[F]rom generation to generation
we will recount your praise.
—Psalm 79:13
Patek Philippe, the luxury Swiss watch manufacturer, buys full-page ads in classy magazines—mostly white space, with this brief text:
You never actually own
a Patek Philippe.
You merely take care of it for
the next generation.
You may not be ready to cough up $50,000 for a Patek Philippe (they have gone for as much as $2.5 million) to take care of for the next generation. But you probably have a family heirloom or legacy that will be passed on: a necklace that’s been passed down for four generations; a recipe that’s survived for three; a handwritten letter that’s over a hundred years old.
The greatest hand-me-down is the legacy of faith—and the deepest heart-hurt comes when a family’s culture of faith fails to survive passage from one generation to the next.
The faith of our fathers is the most
valuable gift we can pass on to our children.