Longpath Thinking
Written by Jarred Rushing
(5 minutes)
Generational legacy demands an answer to this question:
Are you willing to plant something that you'll never get to harvest?
Pastor Tim shared something in our Men's Gathering this week that will be an important part of our Kingdom Family going forward. It's called longpath thinking. Longpath thinking is the new wineskin mindset we inherit as generational legacy becomes established in our hearts.
Longpath thinking is a mind that makes every decision based off of the impact it will have on future generations.
Longpath thinking is a life that pours itself into things it will never actually be able to enjoy.
Longpath thinking is a heart that's devoted to a generation it will never see.
Like generational legacy, the longpath is not a top-selling book in the culture of American Christianity even though it is of immense value to the heart of Yahweh. The longpath is only enjoyed by people who have inherited a Kingdom-way of seeing.
Remember Yahweh's promise to Abraham?
"Indeed I will greatly bless you, and I will greatly multiply your seed as the stars of the heavens and as the sand which is on the seashore; and your seed shall possess the gate of his enemies. In your seed all the nations of the earth shall be blessed, because you have listened to My voice." (Genesis 22:17-19)
Can you imagine receiving a promise from Abba of this magnitude?
Every single day after Abraham heard this word he would see sand on the ground and stars in the sky and they would be a constant witness to him of what was coming. Abraham had this promise in mind every day, in every decision he made.
Fast-forward to Abraham's deathbed.
The weight of this word from Yahweh is sitting on Abraham's heart and all of Abraham's seed is sitting on his bed.
Do you know what he sees as he looks around?
Not "sand on the seashore" or "stars of the heavens."
He sees TWO sons, Isaac and Ishmael, and a handful of grandchildren.
It wasn't exactly the fulfillment of Yahweh's promise.
Was Abraham devastated and drowning in hopelessness and despair?
Well, if personal destiny was driving his life, then I imagine so. He would have felt like a complete failure.
But if he was a man convinced of generational legacy and longpath thinking, then he was probably quite happy with the progress of Yahweh's plan. Because it was never about being a firsthand witness to the fruit of Abba's word. It was always about setting the stage, establishing the foundation, and staking off the land that future generations would build upon.
We actually know that Abraham was a man of generational legacy.
Listen to the language in Hebrews 11:9-10 as it describes Abraham's perspective:
"He [Abraham] lived by faith as an immigrant in his promised land as though it belonged to someone else. He journeyed through the land living in tents with Isaac and Jacob who were persuaded that they were also co-heirs of the same promise. His eyes of faith were set on the city with unshakable foundations, whose architect and builder is God himself."
There's only one thing that allows a man like Abraham to live as an immigrant in his own promised land... longpath thinking.
And I love that the writer uses the word "persuaded" when it comes to Isaac and Jacob. They had to be convinced that the promise was theirs, too. Why? Because there was absolutely no evidence that it would be accomplished or even realized in their lifetime!
Are we willing to plant something that we'll never get to harvest?
Are we willing to pour our lives into a generation that will only know us by the legacy that we leave?
Can we dream for the next generation and give our lives to pouring the foundation for that dream?
Generational legacy.
Longpath thinking.
Eyes of faith that can see what Abba is building for the next generation.
Let me wrap this up with a real life example that I remember to this day.
It was a normal day in the office and we got a call from a bank saying that this woman invested some money in an interest-bearing account a very long time ago and the account had matured and was ready to be paid out, and she left it to the church. She had died many years before but at some point in her life she decided to dream for a generation that was coming. And at just the right time, we got a phone call saying there were thousands of dollars ready to be transferred to the church's account.
When that happened my first thought was, "Who does that?"
My second thought was, "Wow. I want to be a person who does that."
Abba, show us the longpath.
We set aside the short-term goals that can be achieved in a lifetime and we pick up the longpath thinking that can dream for generations to come.
Abba, give us eyes of faith and the grace to live as immigrants in our own promised land, because we know that it really belongs to someone else.
Abba, it's an honor to lay down personal destiny so we can inherit your heart for the ones who are coming. We will pioneer the way in the wilderness.
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Worship: "The Blessing" by Kari Jobe & Cody Carnes
Honor: Give Online to The Wilderness Place
Share With Us: We would love to hear how you're encountering Abba in your daily walks. Don't hesitate to share what you're hearing, seeing, or sensing in His presence. Email us here!
