Heavenward Heritage

 By Daphi sha I Syiem

A heritage always dates back to the things of the past handed down to us; living in it is carrying the legacy.

A heritage can take the form of land, possessions, status, reputation, family line, race, culture and traditions, monuments, and geographical spaces. Such heritage is a gift from God to celebrate uniqueness. All of these are designed by God, and it’s our gift from God.

There is a story which supports an eternal meaning of a heritage.  There was a woman who was a first convert, who followed and chose Christ over her earthly inheritance, who was persecuted.  They seized her birthright. Through her testimony I can vividly draw out the picture of what eternal heritage looks like.  Her bold steps impacted many and had a ripple effect that continued to pass till the fifth generation.  The family witnessed the hand of God leading them throughout until this time.

Her story gave me a perspective to be rich towards God -- the eternal heritage.

Daily as I glean from God’s Word, the pages of the Bible become alive and real to me. God still creates stories in the life of people that point us to Christ as our model. As children of God we have different callings, and God wants everything that we do to bring glory to Him.

Colossians 3:17 "And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus giving thanks to God the Father through Him."

There were times we questioned our calling and even felt inferior due to the background we came from, but looking at Jesus will always change our perspective. God did not entrust Jesus to a wealthy family. He was not born in a mansion, but through Him we all are blessed.

“Infinite, and an infant. Eternal, and yet born of a woman. Almighty, and yet hanging on a woman‘s breast. Supporting a universe, and yet needing to be carried in a mother’s arms. King of angels, and yet the reputed son of Joseph. Heir of all things, and yet the carpenter‘s despised son.” -- Charles Spurgeon

Friends, there is comfort as children of God. We have been born again and have a better calling whether we realize it or not. 

Romans 8:16-17 is a great encouragement for us. It says in verses 16-17, "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our Spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs -- heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together."

It is a wonderful thing to also see ourselves as citizens of heaven as we read in Philippians 3:20, "For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ".

Our earthly heritage is temporary, but we all have one in common and that is we are His heritage.

Ephesians 1:11 AMPC, "In Him we also were made [God’s] heritage (portion) and we obtained an inheritance; for we had been foreordained (chosen and appointed beforehand) in accordance with His purpose, Who works out everything in agreement with the counsel and design of His [own] will."

May we always live a life that is rich towards God.

Daphi sha I Syiem lives in India.  She loves the Lord. You will find her reading in her free time, doing chores at home, and still waiting on the Lord's plan to serve Him.   She recently graduated with a Master of Arts in Christian counseling.

The photo above is the First Presbyterian Church in Meghalaya, India. It was planted by Welsh missionaries, one of whom was Thomas Jones.