Inheritance

A few months ago, my Great Uncle sadly passed away from cancer. I didn’t know him well or see him often, so I was very surprised to learn that he had left me some money in his will. The money has enabled me to purchase my own equipment for filmmaking – something I love doing (not as much as my job at NYFC obviously) and something I believe God has given me a talent in. I have been able to buy an amazing camera with everything I need to make professional quality films.

This combined with the fact that I will be moving on from my role with NYFC in the summer, has got me thinking about inheritance. My Uncle left behind something that has enabled me to carry on doing something I love doing. It was a gift that he never saw me receive, something that didn’t benefit him in any way and something he didn’t have to do. Inheritance involves grace and selflessness.

What are we going to leave behind?

I feel bad for young people growing up now in what is essentially a society of bad inheritance, where previous governments and bank bosses have failed to think about the long term consequences of their actions and decisions.  It is now our young people who are paying the price for their mistakes. With budget cuts, massive youth unemployment and the ever-increasing gap between the rich and the poor, the inheritance we are building for future generations is not a good one. That challenges me.

In every aspect of our lives we can be challenged about what we are leaving behind us. In our jobs, in raising our children, in our relationships and in the way we steward what has been given to us. We will leave behind something, but whether it is good or bad, remains our choice.

What are you leaving behind?

When Jesus left his disciples, he left the Holy Spirit; ‘When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance’ – Ephesians 1:13-14. The Holy Spirit is part of our inheritance, reminding us of what is to come. What an amazing gift to leave behind! Jesus came to earth, invested in a bunch of young people others had given up on, changed the world, made a way back to God, started the church and gave us the Holy Spirit. Impressive!

For us as Christians leaving an inheritance will rarely be about money. It will be the way we treat people, the things we invest our lives into, the stories we tell our kids, what we spend our time doing. Living a kingdom life leaves an inheritance, planting seeds deep in the hearts of future generations that will one day sprout up into glorious spiritual fruit. So much of youth work is about planting those seeds, trusting that as we plant and water, God causes them to grow into live giving oaks of righteousness, that will impact this generation and the generations to come.

jo@nottinghamyfc.co.uk

Jo is NYfC's key worker in Radcliffe-on-Trent