A Time to Gather Stones by Rose McCormick Brandon

We will use these (twelve) stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.” Joshua 4:6,7

The Israelites were nearing the Promised Land, nearing fulfilment of the promise given to Abraham centuries before. God stopped the flow of the Jordan River for them to pass over into the land. He instructed Joshua to gather twelve stones, one to represent each tribe, and create a monument that would stand as a reminder to future generations that God Himself made a way for His people to claim their inheritance.

Stone monuments dot the landscape of our country, including some on Parliament Hill engraved with scripture. Over the east window of the Peace Tower: He shall have dominion also from sea to sea (Psalm 72:8). The south window: Give the King thy judgement, O God, and thy righteousness unto the King's son (Psalm 72:1). The west window: Where there is no vision, the people perish (Proverbs 29:18). Other scriptures appear in the Memorial Chamber and on the bell. 

Gravestones fill our cemeteries. Some with telling words, like Fanny Crosby’s which bears the words of one of her famous hymns: Blessed assurance, Jesus is Mine. O what a foretaste of glory divine. 

Each of us must build a memorial. Something that testifies to future generations that Jesus Christ revealed Himself to us, that we experienced the miracle of salvation and were transformed by it. It need not be made of stone. One man left a letter to his grandchildren expressing his desire that each of them would love the Lord Jesus. Today, his great-great-grandchildren have copies of his letter. Meaningful words scribed with love near the end of his life when he was about to cross over into the Promised Land.

The time to gather stones is now. Stones of deeds done in the name of Christ. Stones of loving God and forgiving people, of being filled with the Spirit, reading and obeying His Word, prayer, encouraging others, living in peace, forgetting the past and moving forward, spreading the gospel, honouring Christ daily and finally, dying with His Name on our lips.

Think about the faith legacy you will leave. Will it be of stone? Wood? Words? Whatever it is make it meaningful.

Prayer: Father, guide me on this issue of leaving a faith legacy. Let it be something that will testify to future generations that I followed You.

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Rose McCormick Brandon is author of One Good Word Makes all the Difference and Promises of Home - Stories of Canada's British Home Children. Her articles and devotionals are published in many Christian magazines and in collections of inspiring stories like Chicken Soup for the Soul. She writes two blogs: Promises of Home and Listening to my Hair Grow.