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Your Life Your Legacy
Have you’ve seen people who carry the same name only separated by the III or the II. Robert Griffin the III comes to mind.
When this is attached to someones name, we know there’s a legacy attached to this persons life. They are connected to those that went before them. We are all connected to our family somehow.
Your Legacy Left
As stated in yesterdays post, I came across some names in the bible. Yesterday I talked about Pharaoh Thutmose I, Egyptian king who enslaved Israel.
Then today I was doing some research and came across Pharaoh Thutmose III, Egyptian king who attempted to kill Moses.
What caught my eye…
- The name was the same
- Both were related
- Both wanted to harm the Israelite
- Both were men of power.
As everyone, we only have our own culture, education, surroundings, upbringing, and understanding of history to help guide us in our decisions making.
This was no different for both these men.
We don’t dwell on what a generation 2000 years from now will think of our decision making. Most of us react and do what we believe is best for our people, nation, and standing in society.
This plays out in the choices we make.
- What job will we take?
- What church do we attend?
- How do we treat in-laws and outlaws?
- How are we going to vote?
But what about the legacy we leave. Do we think about that? Do we need to think about this?
How Are You Remembered
Most of us will not be remembered two to three generations from our death.
I barely knew or spent time with my grandparents. My kids never meet my grandparents. I am sure they never cross their minds or will be asked about them outside of a school paper. People are forgotten forever in time…
How does that make you feel?
To be honest it haunts me and begs me to ask, what type of legacy will I leave.
I heard skip Bayless talking on ESPN the other day. They were talking about whether or not Ben (QB of the Steelers) should be present during the birth of his first-born, if it happens on game day. Skip said that he should miss the birth and be in the game.
Then Skip said the only reason he thinks this way is because he comes from a broken home and was never connected to his family. That his career is his family and it cost him 2 marriages and he works every holiday. He also said it is why he does not want kids, because they would get in the way of his career.
Skip has made the choice that his career will be tied directly to his legacy.
Now before you go half cocked and began spouting negative words at this man, think about this for a second. Have you done the same?
In My Life
There was a time in my life when my position as a pastor was my entire identity. It was not until I took a long sabbatical after a failed church plant did I realize how reliant I was on that position in my life. I am quite sure that I’m not alone. There may be a lot of people who have their worth and understanding tied directly to their title and standing in life.
A Legacy Worth Remembering
However, I wonder if there is some other way to build a legacy? Is there something else we can do in life that others well remember or benefit from.
I find what Christ said interesting…I will be leaving you peace…
John 14:27; “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.
At first glance this may not seem like a legacy, but I think with some supportive information it might be.
In New Testament, the normal way to say good-bye was Peace (šālôm in Heb.). In His death Jesus provided a legacy for His disciples: My peace I give you. They would have “peace with God”
How does this translate into Your Legacy?
Your legacy is not tied to you but to Christ. In other words you have to go back and think of the person you were tied to. If it was a crazy family, then you’re in trouble. But scripture tells us that you are no longer your own but part of Christ. That you have been grafted in and made part of the family of God.
But then, in addition, there are these results: because we have been adopted into God’s family, we are entitled to bear His name. We can say that we are the children of God. We are members of the household of God. We belong to God’s family. God’s name is upon us. He has said, ‘I will be your God, and ye shall be my people’ (Lev. 26:12). We are His people. You remember that Peter applies to Christians what God had said to the nation of Israel of old (1 Pet. 2:9–10).
Source: Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1997). God the Holy Spirit (188). Wheaton, IL: Crossways Books.
Holy Cow
Now this ups the ante right! All of sudden it is not about what you do in the short time of life. But how you carry on what has already been established. How do you live out this calling in life that Christ has given you?
You see we want our legacy to count here on Earth. Because we want to be remembered. We want our lives to count. It is kind of our reward if you will. To be remembered throughout time.
But Our Reward
Unforgettably, the majority of us will not be remembered throughout time, unless we do something crazy bad, or something that changes the world forever. Even if you get stupid rich, you wont be remembered.
Name the top 20 richest people in the world. Without going to Google.
Can’t do it…then name the riches person… (Carlos Slim (Mexico) – $74 billion, telecommunications)
You did not even know that…and yet he has 74 billion dollars…I bet you wish you knew him…
So, what are you really chasing? What reward do you really want? What reward can you truly obtain?
I think it is a fair question to Ask
So let me give a different perspective on the whole thing. I will use scripture again…
We can see that our legacy is tied to our inheritances. Strange? Maybe?
But what we can be remembered for is the same thing that Christ gave to us. Peace. Our legacy is not tied to this World but to what Christ already accomplished.
I’m not tied to my business or title, but I am tied to who I became in Christ. When we become joint heirs in Christ, we receive the inheritance that comes along with being part of that family.
If you were Carlos Slim’s son, you would be a rich person for however long you lived here on earth.
But if you are a son or daughter of Christ, you become a rich person forever…your legacy is not one of two or three generations, but one of eternity.
1 Peter 1:4; to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
That is something You Can Pass On
This is not something you hold onto but something you can pass on. To give away. To show others.
How do you do that?
By the life you live and the things you commit too. That is a legacy worth giving your life too.
Let me know what you think…
[...] so that we have an understanding of the times and where we have come from. In my post “The Legacy We Leave” I make the point that it is always wise to see our legacy tied to those who have [...]