Unfortunately, I have been to a lot of funerals in my time. During these special ceremonies, attendees are presented with old stories and memories about the deceased. Almost always, there is a table or tackboard set up at the funeral home or church showing photographs from the person’s life; not to mention an obituary printed in the newspaper. All designed of course, to celebrate and remember someone’s life here on Earth. In fact, I think most people care quite a bit how they will be remembered. It’s almost inherent within us to desire that others remember us.
And so it begs
the question: what kind of legacy are you going to leave behind after you are
gone? How do you want your family and
community to remember you? Perhaps some
don’t give much thought to this.
Afterall, who has time to think about eternity when you have bills to
pay and a full-time job. But still, this
thought occasionally haunts me.
Personally, I would love my writing and my books to survive me in some
way. The thought of my adult children
reading something I wrote thirty years from now is strangely comforting.
For many, I
suspect that their perception of legacy is to leave behind a financial
inheritance for family or children. This
is certainly a good thing, but I think we can dig a little deeper. If we go one step further, I think it’s
relevant to ask “how do we start building a legacy right here and now?” How do we construct a way of thinking, a methodology,
or even a value system that we can leave behind for others to take with them
out into the world and make a difference?
These are all good things, but still very temporary and fleeting in many
respects. After a couple of generations,
unless you become really famous, most of us will be lost to antiquity. But know this – nothing about you is lost to
God. There was a time before you were
created when you didn’t exist, but there will never be a time since then, when
you will cease to exist. We all go on
spiritually.
Psalm 78:4
says, “We will not hide them from their children; we will tell the next
generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the wonders he
has done.” The author here is
talking about making certain that ancient people continued to share what God had
done for them during their lives. I
believe that this is our job today as well.
This is how we build a truly lasting legacy - this is how we make a
difference. If you are able to leave
your family some financial wealth, that is great. If you have raised children that grow up to
be responsible and well-adjusted adults, even better. But do people know what God has done for you
in your life? Have you communicated the
various ways that Jesus saved you?
I remember one funeral in particular that I officiated years ago. I knew this lady quite well through the church. People stretched out for hundreds of yards in either direction during her graveside service. I had never seen so many friends and family come together in this way – they practically enveloped the entire cemetery that day. But the one thing I’ll always remember about her, was that she demonstrated kindness and grace to everyone she met, and she talked about Jesus. She talked about Jesus a lot. Her Earthly legacy was a large and loving family. But her spiritual crown was given to her in Heaven. This was her real home anyway. It is our true home also. Make sure you are building a legacy that points upward to Heaven, and to a God that lives forever.
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