I'm Sorry I'm late, I had to attend the reading of a will. I had to stay till the very end and I found out I received nothing.

Recently I spoke with a couple soon to be married about various (pre)marital issues, including the importance of a will. As you can imagine, a couple anticipating their lives before them are not thinking about death. They're not alone in that regard.

An exception was my great grandmother, Granny. I remember reading her will and being impressed with the meticulous detail. For example, she was not a fan of a spouse of one of her descendants and made sure nobody could accuse her of having forgotten him in the will. We'll call him, "Spare." She wrote, "Spare gets nothing. Spare certainly does not get the tools in the basement, particularly the table saw that he's had his eye on."

But, she was consistent in judging based on merit (as she saw it). In fact, one of her siblings got the short end of the stick. "To my sister I leave the total sum of one dollar." I anticipate having some fun with my will when I write it, incorporating some of Granny's good humor.

Yet, even I will admit death is not something I think of often.

Death is something we are not keen to discuss, but it and taxes are two things in life you can count on. Yet, attorneys note that the vast majority of Americans die without a will. Hopefully, you won’t fall into this category. Maybe you’ve provided a will as an expression of love and concern for your heirs, making the transition easier on them as they mourn your loss. I’m sure many of you have even specified particular beneficiaries for particular items of worth. You have probably designated close friends and/or family to inherit those things you hold dear.

But, have you ever thought about a spiritual will?

What values and character traits would you like to leave behind? Who will inherit your spiritual legacy? Have you given much thought to particular beneficiaries for particular things you hold dear?

What character traits will you pass on to your children?

Will you leave them integrity, humility, love, and purity? What values will your loved ones receive? Will you leave them with a knowledge of the importance of a relationship with Jesus Christ and a love for Him and His Word? Will you leave them with the values of hard work and honesty?

Take a few minutes and write down a few beneficiaries and what values and traits you would like to leave them.

Many parents want to leave wealth for their children, but it takes hard work to acquire such a legacy. In the same way, many of those things in your spiritual will require great effort to procure. For each of the beneficiaries you listed, identify the steps necessary to ensure that you can leave such a legacy.

For example, “I, _____________, being of sound mind and realizing the brevity of life, do hereby bequeath to _______________ the following: ____________. In order to ensure this transaction, I will do the following: ______________.”

May God richly bless you in order that you can leave a wealthy spiritual legacy.

What are you doing today that will provide for their spiritual well-being tomorrow?