Valentine’s day is bittersweet in our family. We have family members who passed away on this day. So we remember them. Melanie’s mom and dad boarded a bus at their church twenty years ago after she received her card and gift from him. Less than an hour later, she entered the presence of the Heavenly Father. Her untimely death in a bus crash took our breath away. We did not get to tell her goodbye as we would have liked. So, when I awakened on the 14th, my mind went to our children. All grown and gainfully employed, I wanted to encourage them where they are. One by one, I texted them to remind them of my love and the love of the heavenly Father.
Jacob also blessed his sons, one by one. Our parents know us well because of years of observation. We hear it in Jacob’s words of blessing over each son. His words to Joseph offer so much hope and promise to his son. Perhaps for all of those years, Jacob had pondered what he might have said to Joseph, if he could address him one more time. Now he had the opportunity to speak his love out loud. Jacob did not miss his chance. Best of all, he reminded Joseph of God’s provision and protection in his life. Joseph bore fruit like a vine. Listen to the names Jacob uses to describe God. He is the Mighty One of Jacob, the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel, your father’s God, the Almighty who blesses. Jacob knew God well and he wanted Joseph to know that God had protected and sustained him.
Someday, believers will be gathered home. After Jacob breathed his last, he was “gathered to his people.” Isn’t that a beautiful, relational description of life after death? Who gathered Jacob? God. Where did he take him? To his people. Imagine Abraham, Isaac, Rachel and Leah waiting at the gate.
Fortunately, our faith is completely transmissible, if they will receive it. We offer our descendants the very best when we give them the heritage of loving and serving the Lord. If they receive that heritage legacy, they will be rich beyond measure in the ways that matter most. My own father, who faces surgery again next week, reflected on his four sons, eleven grandchildren, and twelve great-grandchildren and said, “No matter what happens, I leave behind a great legacy.” Best of all he knows that God has always watched over him.
