Steven Lawson has written a book called The Legacy- Ten Core Values Every Father Must Leave His Child.
In the book there is a study that is performed contrasting a couple who are not Christian and a couple who are Christian and their descendants.
What they did was take a guy by the name of Max Jukes, who was an atheist, his wife was not a believer, and they traced their 1,200 descendants. And then they took Jonathan Edwards who preached that great sermon Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God and his wonderful, godly wife Sarah, and traced their descendants.
What I want to do is to help you understand one thing. Sincerity is not enough. You are making decisions in your life right now that determine your legacy.
Just look at the difference that a godly father makes in the life of a child!
Max Jukes first of all:
• 440 lives of outright debauchery
• 310 paupers and vagrants
• 190 public prostitutes
• 130 convicted criminals
• 100 alcoholics
• 60 habitual thieves
• 55 victims of impurity
• 7 murderers
• Total cost of their making their journey down here on earth to the state of New York was one million two hundred thousand dollars!
Are you ready for Jonathan Edwards?
• 300 clergymen, missionaries, or theological professors
• 120 college professors
• 110 lawyers
• 60 physicians
• 60 authors of good books
• 30 judges
• 14 presidents of universities
• numerous giants in American industry
• 3 U.S. congressmen
• 1 vice-president of the United States
Choices, decisions, make the impact on the legacy that you and I are going to leave.