When my grandpa passed away my grandma gave me several of his old Bibles. The leather was worn to perfection, the binding was coming apart, pages were falling out, while ink smudges and faded highlights lined the pages of these old treasures.

Honestly, I’ve never opened the pages of these Bibles to read them – partly because I didn’t think they would stay together, but also because that wasn’t the purpose of them for me. No, these worn-out gems mean far more to me than another copy of morning devotional material, they're memorials in my journey of faith. My grandpa was the only male Christian influence in my life when I was a kid, and I can remember being so interested in his faith. He never missed church on Sundays, always wore his best, and the prayer before any family meal was always his duty. He was a man of faith, crafted by those Bibles.

Now they sit on my shelf as memorials. They’re a reminder of the faith I so innocently pursued as a kid because of his example.

That’s the beauty of Joshua 22. As the children of Israel began a new way of life together, the eastern tribes realized they were further away from the center of worship with a natural barrier of the Jordan River separating them. To ensure their people didn’t drift from the faith or weren’t cut off from worshiping, they built a massive altar as a memorial. The tribal leaders make their intentions clear by stating it wasn’t for sacrificial purposes, but as a memorial to their people. The leaders cap this clarifying statement a few verses later, “It is not for burnt offerings or sacrifices; it is a reminder of the relationship both of us have with the Lord.”

I love how Phinehas the priest and the other confronting elders respond, “Today we know the Lord is among us because you haven’t committed treachery as we thought, but have rescued Israel from being destroyed.”

There was rescuing power in those memorials. Today, I save my Bibles as memorials for my kids, praying someday they’ll serve the same purpose my grandpa’s old Bibles fulfill on my bookshelf. What memorials can you begin to create in your life? Refresh your soul with this encouraging truth: One day your “faith” will be sitting on the bookshelf of your kids. What do you want them to remember? Let’s make more memorials!