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Thoughts About Legacy

Dear Friends,

This morning I was cleaning some papers out of my Bible, and on one particular folded piece of scrap paper were some notes. Thoughts I had apparently once scribbled down as I was thinking of the word "legacy." I thought I would pass them on for you to consider as we all enter into this New Year (actually this new decade)! Enjoy.

Leaving Behind A Legacy


"Someone once asked a group I was in: "What would you hope someone would write about you on your tombstone? And what will you resolve to do (what will you choose to refrain from doing) so that it might be the words you would one day hope they would write?" We could ask the same in other ways. What might you hope people will say about you at your funeral? What will you leave behind when you are gone? Will the world be any better (your family, friends and acquaintances) for your having been a part of their lives? What "legacy" will you leave behind?


That discussion has always stuck with me. It made me think, "What exactly WILL I leave behind that outlasts me?" In the Old Testament, the patriarchs left a legacy physically by passing on their wealth to their heirs, left a legacy morally through their example (sometimes good and sometimes bad), and at other times left behind a legacy spiritually by calling their children to their side on their deathbed and pronouncing a specially prepared blessing (or message God had given them) over each one (Gen. 49 / I Kings 2:1-4). And should there be those things we regret, we can also leave a legacy by asking forgiveness, offering forgiveness, confessing, acknowledging sin, offering grace, or bringing about reconciliation in regard to some long-standing offense or unresolved hurt.

The question is:
What will YOU leave behind that outlasts you?
What are YOU pouring into your kids in terms of instruction, example, affection, verbal affirmation, or joy and delight in them?
What will your children's main memories of YOU consist of?

Given the fact that we all make mistakes and some would even wish they could relive certain moments of their lives all over again (or rewrite certain chapters, paragraphs or sentences of their life story) my purpose is NOT to make you feel guilty for unalterable sins or mistakes of the past. Since it's not possible to go back in time and change things we did wrong, we must simply plead God's grace, receive His forgiveness, and pray -- as one friend used to put it -- "For God to restore the years the swarming locust has stolen" (Joel 2:25).

Yet, let me leave you with these 5 thoughts to consider in relation to leaving a "legacy."

"If you were to die soon and only had one phone call to make, who would you call and what would you say? So, what are you waiting for?"
Stephan Leaven

"Live your life as if you were someone else's only role model. Live your life so that all you want your children to be they see in you."
Anonymous


"The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that the warrior takes everything as a challenge, while the ordinary man sees everything as either a blessing or a curse."
Don Juan

"Strength and struggle go together. The supreme reward of struggle is strength. Life is a battle and the greatest joy is to overcome. The pursuit of easy things makes a man weak. It is following the path of least resistance that makes rivers and men crooked."
Paul Parlette


God's blessings upon your New Year. May it be one in which God's name, by His grace, is honored through the choices you make and the things you do (Matt. 5:14-16).

In the Bonds of Christian Affection, Pastor Jeff

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