“Who Is My Inheritance?” ~ ✨
For humanity, the greatest blessing is to know God. For believers, one of the greatest gifts is to hear God’s word. For man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God (Matthew 4:4). The Bible is God’s word; God’s word is wisdom and knowledge. Two phrases within Scripture are clear declarations of the Christian faith: “Rejoice always” and “In everything give thanks.” Believers who rejoice always display the abundance of God; those who give thanks in everything testify to their own humility.
Psalm 127 is a psalm full of wisdom and profound humility. Its first verse — “Unless the Lord builds the house, those who build it labour in vain; unless the Lord watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain” — declares that man must rely on the Lord God for his life.
There are two foundations for earthly life. The first is “living according to the flesh” (Romans 8:5): rising early, staying up late, eating the bread of anxious toil — all in vain, for the enemy will eat what you have planted (Leviticus 26:16; Amos 5:11). The second is “living according to the Spirit” (Romans 8:5): doing one’s duty by day, and at night the Lord grants peaceful sleep.
God’s redemption is always intended to lead us into rest (Hebrews 4:9). Sadly, those enslaved by the flesh always rely on themselves — yet they themselves are unreliable — and so they never find rest. But those whom God loves are those who do not follow the flesh but follow the Spirit (Romans 8:4). When believers rest in Christ, even while they sleep, God is able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, according to the power at work within us (Ephesians 3:20). Therefore, under this complete protection, we can sleep peacefully. Now, through the Lord Jesus Christ, even in the midst of storms, we can rest (Mark 4:38).
And what is the primary “house” the Lord builds? A household. For husbands and wives who have established this spiritual foundation and seek to continue what God is building in their lives, they will recognise that their children are indeed an inheritance from God. This inheritance is given to parents to manage, yet the ultimate ownership remains with God — just as the parents themselves belong to the Lord Christ. Scripture teaches parents not to indulge their children, but to bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4). When parents carefully nurture and teach the inheritance God has entrusted to them, their children are more likely to grow as children of God through their own faith. Through spiritual children, parents receive rewards and blessings of eternal value.
As for the spiritual inheritance of the unmarried, the Apostle Paul says, “it is good for them to remain as I am” — he was fully moved by the Spirit of God (1 Corinthians 7:25-26, 40). I believe Paul means to encourage or affirm that for those without a spouse or children of their own, their family is God Himself (Psalm 16:5-6)!
Whether married or single, God’s work of building in a person aims at the continuation of spiritual life — from the rising of the sun to its setting, raising the poor from the dust and lifting the needy from the ash heap, making them sit with princes (Job 36:7). I perceive how the psalmist shifts from “building a house” to “establishing a household,” showing readers how those who follow the Spirit are blessed by God to establish a family (2 Samuel 7:27-29).
Knowing that the flesh is not the source of life, they do not follow the flesh in bearing and raising children — for all that follows the flesh will fade, but following the Spirit, though the outer self is wasting away, the inner self is being renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16). Therefore, the responsibility of parents is to diligently teach their children God’s word (Deuteronomy 6:7), allowing the children to build their own direct relationship with God in the Spirit. A child’s excellence depends not only on the parents’ efforts but on the Holy Spirit, who raises children like arrows in the hand of a warrior — arrows that can strike the target with precision.
Psalm 127 is the work of King Solomon, whose wisdom came from God. This psalm highlights that humility and wisdom carry equal weight. Humility is kindness and integrity; the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Psalm 111:10). For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things (Romans 11:36). Those who fear the Lord will have descendants who multiply. The offspring of the righteous are an inheritance from the Lord; those who manage God’s inheritance well will see it continue from generation to generation, each one flourishing.
The psalmist Solomon points out that the path of life and the transmission of life depend on God. His father, King David, offers me an even higher level of reflection and pursuit. The people of Israel in the past, and believers today, often hope to receive from God an abundance of earthly inheritance — yet they fail to see that God Himself is their inheritance (Psalm 16:5), and that Christ is the one they should long for!
Closing with a poem from the heart, for my thoughts turn to verse when I remember:
“The fault is not in the fruit”
Pleasing to the eye, falling into the belly —
Eating, drinking, merry-making — the soul stands empty.
The fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is easily reached.
The fruit of the tree of life — it takes a lifetime to cultivate.
What gladdens the heart and quickens the spirit — take that.
What pleases the eye — guard against that.
With a clear heart and enlightened eyes, see through every tree, every inheritance.
See through every inheritance — heart clear, eyes enlightened — and know my inheritance.
✨✨💖 ~
en yan hua fang 