A legacy is anything handed down from the past. I'm thinking of the concept of a legacy as a way to be remembered. How will you be remembered?
I think of David, the young man that God referred to as "a man after My own heart" (1 Sam 13:14). Now, that's a legacy, isn't it? Despite David's failings, God considered David someone pursuing God's heart. I'd love to be remembered that way. Scripture describes Stephen as "full of grace and power" (Acts 6:8). Mind you, Stephen wasn't a king or an apostle. He was, in fact, a "deacon" -- he waited tables. And he "saw the glory of God" (Acts 7:55). Imagine being remembered that way. An angel appeared to Daniel and called him "dearly loved" or "highly esteemed" (Dan 10:11). Dearly loved ... by God. It was the characteristic that the angel felt was most necessary to be expressed. It would be amazing to be called "dearly loved by God." Or how about Abraham? If you've read the story of Abraham, you've seen that he was chosen by God ... to be chosen. He was the father of the nation of Israel. And he had special promises of God. So, when he came across a threat, he ... folded. "She's my sister!" (Gen 12:13). Nice, Abraham, way to trust God. He did it twice (Gen 20:2). And to top it off, he tried to "help God out" by fathering a child with his wife's maid, Hagar (Gen 16:1-2). And, yet, in the end, Scripture lists him in the "Halls of Faith" (Heb 11:8-10; 17-19). I'd love to be known as a man of faith.
You can list your own versions. Maybe people you've known. My mother is a woman whose life is radically marked by her attitude of gratitude for anything and everything God gives. A good legacy. George Muller kept a list of requests and answers and recorded over 5,000 answered prayers. He started 117 schools and ran orphanages and traveled over 200,000 miles as an evangelist ... before the days of airplanes and automobiles. He was regarded as a man of prayer. Excellent legacy. What will yours be? How will you be remembered? I would suspect that a good aim would be to be thought of as someone who sought to glorify the Lord (Matt 5:16; 1 Cor 10:31). Are you building a legacy that points to Him?
1 comment:
As a female believer, I often think about the “Proverbs 31” woman as my model for such a legacy, but alas, I barely resemble her. Hopefully, at least Prov. 31:28 (“her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praised her”) will be true. I would especially like Prov. 31:30 to apply: “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” While my charm and beauty are indeed waning, my fear of the Lord is growing ever stronger.
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