The Great Handoff

There’s a powerful parable I heard years ago. It’s the story of a man in Japan who walked to work every day. Each day, he passed by a field where a farmer was clearing rocks from the field. The farmer picked, he dug, and then he carried the rocks to the side of the field. Every day, every season, the routine was the same.

Finally, the man grew curious. Why did the farmer never plant a crop? Why did he only carry rocks to the side of the field?

He stopped the farmer in the midst of his work. He repeated his thoughts: “Every day, I see you do the same thing. You pick, you dig, and you carry rocks to the side of the field. Why do you never plant a crop?”

The farmer smiled patiently and responded, “I’m preparing this field for my grandchildren.”

This principle of stewardship is not a business principle. It’s a biblical principle. When you look at the life of Abraham, in Genesis 12, he is promised a land and a people and told he will be a blessing to the world.

But there’s one problem. He doesn’t have a son, so how can the blessing take place? Abraham waits twenty-five years before he gets a son—to the point that the promise seems unbelievable. Beyond that, Abraham never does get the land.

In fact, God tells him that his descendants will go down to Egypt and be in slavery for four hundred years. Then, after four hundred years, they will come back and take the land. I don’t know about you, but I don’t think I’d want to wait for four hundred years to occupy the land I’d been promised.

And the last promise to Abraham—to be a blessing to the world? Well, in Matthew 1:17, we are told, “Thus there were fourteen generations in all from Abraham to David, fourteen from David to the exit to Babylon, and fourteen from the exile to the Messiah.” If you are doing the math, that’s forty-two generations before the promise of the blessing to the world gets fulfilled.

We are part of that story. In the Lord’s careful way, He is reminding us, “Don’t think short-term. Think long-term. Think of the long tomorrow.” This generational view cuts against how we think of long-term planning in our world today.

When I began working and got my first promotion, I was bursting with pride. I immediately came home and told my mom. She responded, “Well, David, what are you doing for the Lord?”

When I got my second big promotion, her response was exactly the same. I’ve sometimes joked that even if I came home and said, “Mom, I was just voted the president of the United States,” she’d still have the same response.

In the eyes of the world, my mom’s balance sheet looked bare. She died with a handful of clothes and not enough in her bank account to pay for her funeral. I paid for her funeral. But in the eyes of heaven, her bank account was overflowing with a heart that loved God until the end, faithful service of the church, a marriage that lasted until death, and six children who served the Lord.

I wish there were more Marie Greens in this world today. We need people like her who would remind us that the promotions and trappings of this world mean nothing. How we need to ask our stony hearts that question again and again to shake us out of the reverie of the temporary moments of this earth:

What are you doing for eternity?

The idea of retiring and traveling or even moving somewhere fun has only popped up during my lifetime. During my parents’ lifetime, the majority of Americans lived and worked until they died.

Ultimately, my mom’s questions pointed me to the long term. She helped me wrestle with my career decisions until I could see clearly how my life and calling impacted the kingdom of God.

As the years have passed, I realize my mom was calling me to a legacy mindset. The legacy mindset reminds me that I own nothing on this planet. For a brief time, a vapor, God entrusts me with a few things—people, influence, talent, and treasure.

The Lord’s challenge to each of us is: How will we steward what He’s put in our hands? Stewardship means my resources are not just for me. This stewardship mindset—for the generations—begins to change everything. I’m a steward of the story God started in our family. My job is to make a great handoff to my children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. For that generational handoff, my hope and prayer are that he might say, “Well done.”

Tune in to LIFE Today on Monday to hear David Green, along with co-author Bill High. Adapted from The Legacy Life by David Green with Bill High. Copyright © 2025 by Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc., and Generational Legacy Counsel, LLC. Published by Baker Books. Used by permission.