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If you drive just a few minutes from where we are gathered today, you'll see the granite and stone of the National D-Day Memorial. It stands as a tribute to the "Bedford Boys"—those twenty-two young men from our own community who gave everything on the sands of Omaha Beach. We in Bedford understand perhaps better than anyone that a legacy isn't just a name on a plaque; it is the price paid by one generation to secure the future of the next.

But as we look at those stone monuments, we must ask ourselves a harder spiritual question: What are we building today that won't eventually erode?

In our competitive world, we're told that the ultimate "trophy" is the wealth we accumulate or the titles we earn. But left to ourselves, we tend toward a spiritual silence that effectively hides the marvelous works of God from the very children who need them most. A godly legacy is never an accident of time. It is the intentional fruit of a life that rhythmically sharpens the next generation's heart with the wonderful works of God until His truth becomes their daily walk.

This isn't just about what we say; it's about the quality of who we are. To leave a legacy that outlasts granite, we must first look at the bedrock of our lives.

The Brutal Inventory: What Will Your Children Actually Inherit?

Here's the truth: The inheritance you leave is determined not by what you own, but by who you are.

Solomon wrote in Proverbs 13:22, "A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just." Notice he doesn't say "a wealthy man" or "a successful man"—he says "a good man." The Hebrew word speaks to moral excellence, character that is pleasing to God. This man's goodness produces an inheritance that reaches beyond one generation to touch his grandchildren.

Meanwhile, the sinner—the one who "misses the mark," who lives apart from God's standard—may accumulate wealth, but God sovereignly reassigns it for the righteous.

Why does this matter? We live in a culture obsessed with what we leave behind in dollars and assets, yet tragically indifferent to who we are becoming in Christ. Character outlasts checking accounts. Integrity outlives investment portfolios. A godly reputation is the only inheritance that doesn't depreciate.

Examine your life today with brutal honesty. If your children were to inherit only your character—your integrity, your prayer life, your love for Scripture, your faithfulness in trials—would they be rich or poor? Stop measuring your legacy by your net worth and start measuring it by your Christ-likeness. Every day you walk in obedience to Christ, you are compounding your legacy.

But here's what most of us miss: You are leaving a legacy whether you intend to or not. The question is not if you will leave an inheritance, but what kind.

The Silent Default: What Happens When We Don't Sharpen

Psalm 78:4 commands us: "We will not hide them from their children, shewing to the generation to come the praises of the Lord, and his strength, and his wonderful works that he hath done."

We will not hide them. That's not a suggestion—it's a deliberate refusal to remain silent about God's wonderful works. Yet here's the dangerous reality: we've dangerously outsourced spiritual formation to programs while abdicating the primary responsibility God placed on us.

Your children won't remember the one Christian conference, but they'll never forget how you responded when the car broke down, when money was tight, when you were mistreated. Character isn't formed in isolated mountaintop experiences; it's forged in mundane moments.

How many meals have you shared this week where you talked about God's faithfulness? How many car rides have you used to discuss Scripture? Here's the hard truth: you cannot sharpen what you do not touch. If your relationship consists of logistics and small talk, you're managing a household, not shepherding hearts.

Think about what your silence is actually teaching. By default, when we don't speak about God's wonderful works, our children learn He's irrelevant. When we don't demonstrate His strength in our trials, they conclude that faith doesn't work in real life. When we hide the praises of the Lord, we're actively choosing to leave them spiritually impoverished—regardless of how much money we put in their college fund.

The Sharpening Rhythm: How Formation Actually Happens

But it's not too late. God's design for legacy-building is both simple and profound. Here's the truth: The most powerful spiritual formation happens not in planned events, but in the repeated rhythms of ordinary life.

Deuteronomy 6:7 reveals the pattern: "And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up."

Teach them diligently—literally, sharpen them. Think about sharpening a knife. You don't do it once and expect it to stay sharp forever. You return to the whetstone again and again, stroke after stroke, until the edge is keen. That's what we're doing with our children's hearts—repeatedly, patiently, persistently sharpening them with God's Word until His truth pierces deep.

And notice the rhythm: sitting in your house (the home as discipleship hub), walking by the way (spontaneous moments on the go), lying down (bedtime conversations), and rising up (morning routines). This is 24/7 discipleship woven into ordinary life.

Proverbs 22:6 reinforces this pattern: "Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it." Train up—repeatedly habituate them into a way of life. Not a single event, but a sustained rhythm that shapes who they become.

The Daily Practice: Starting Tonight

What does this look like in practice? Tonight at dinner, refuse to hide. Tell them about God's faithfulness. Tomorrow morning, talk about trusting God. On the drive, pray together. At bedtime, open the Word. You don't need perfection—just faithfulness in the rhythms.

When you sit at breakfast, you can scroll in silence or engage with God's wonderful works. When you walk to the car, you can rehearse your to-do list or speak truth. When you lie down tonight, you can collapse exhausted from chasing what doesn't matter, or you can rest knowing you've sharpened someone's heart with eternal truth.

The apostle John, writing in his old age, declared in 3 John 4: "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." Not just believe it, but walk in it. Truth governs how they make decisions, treat others, handle money, and pursue purity.

What brings you your greatest joy? Be honest. Career success? Comfortable retirement? Your children's worldly achievements? Or hearing they walk in truth? What brings you the greatest joy reveals what you've actually been investing in.

Daniel 12:3 pulls back the curtain on eternity: "And they that be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." God rewards spiritual reproduction. Those who invest in turning others toward God's standard receive an eternal weight of glory.

In a culture that measures greatness by individual achievement, God measures it by reproduction. Did you make disciples? Are those you invested in walking in truth? You may be successful by every earthly metric, but if no one is walking in truth because of your influence, you'll stand before Christ empty-handed.

But here's the encouragement: It's not too late. Today you can begin. Every conversation, every prayer, every moment of instruction is an eternal investment. One day, you will shine like the stars forever, and your greatest joy will be seeing those you turned toward righteousness shining alongside you.

Two Memorials

The Bedford Boys left us a memorial of sacrifice. But you and I have the opportunity to leave something greater—a memorial that lives, that walks, that shines. Not carved in granite, but written on human hearts. Not standing silent in a field, but walking in truth across generations. Not honored by a nation for a season, but radiating the glory of God throughout eternity.

Tomorrow morning, when you wake up, you have a choice. You can rise focused on your own agenda, or you can rise with the deliberate intention of investing in a legacy that will outlast you.

So let me ask you one last time: What legacy are you building? Because granite erodes, but righteousness shines forever.