Legacy - anything handed down from the past, as from an ancestor or predecessor.
I would like to say something about our legacy, what we leave behind, or how we are viewed after we are gone.
Let's take a few moments and view our legacy from a different angle, if that's allowed.
First of all, legacies are born at the death of the individual, not during his or her life. I have often thought of what I will be leaving behind when I leave this world. Not in material things, but what is left of a person when they are gone? An individual is only really remembered vividly by their children and grandchildren, after that the memory of that person fades away into history.
This has really provoked some thought on my part as to how can we extend the legacy we leave behind? I know not everyone is going to be a National figure and be in the hearts of generations to come, and not to that I wish to be exalted and lifted above others just so that I can be remembered in this life. With that said, there has to be a way that a memory can last more than two to three generations of people (four if we are lucky). The legacy that I leave behind, what I am remembered for, what my name says in the hearts of men and women that knew me, and how long will my vapor last after I am gone. These are the questions that have baffled me.
Men like David in the Bible or men like Abraham Lincoln from American History had no choice but to be remembered because of the positions they held and what was accomplished while they held those positions. If we were able to be in their lives while they were living them, we would see their failures, shortcomings, faults, weaknesses, problems, and some of their successes. These men were not superhuman nor were they able to overcome every obstacle that obstructed their path. They somehow found it in themselves to just keep going no matter what. Also, something significant about a man like David was his ability to be just a man. What I mean by that, is how he could humble himself before his people and dance. How, when faced with his own faults he was able to admit them and make them right. Qualities like these are not "run of the mill", they are exceptional.
One thing that I have seen (and though I am a young man been guilty of), is men and women counting more on accomplishments of their past to get them where they want to go, than what they are doing right now to get them there. I believe this would be considered an entitled view of life. Just look at it this way; what if David only relied on his past experiences with God to get him the repentance that he needed after his adultery with Bathsheba? He very well could have reacted like the things he had done in the past make up for any fault he could be found guilty of now. This view is what many of us take more often than not. We feel we are entitled to receive blessings, honor, love, respect, etc. These things are not entitlements but they are earned.
David, no matter how many times he fell down he was always able to find a way to get back on his feet. He knew that to get the attention of God he had to lose himself. Because of David's attitude towards God, his legacy has influenced and affected multitudes of people.
What am I leaving behind? Am I so caught up in myself I am missing my calling? I'm not David, I'm not Abraham Lincoln. I'm just plan old Warren J. Joyce. The only successful way I can think of to leave something behind me that will outlast a couple of generations is to be an integral part of winning a lost soul to God. Even if it is just one. My mother has told me how she came to God, and the people that were influential in her making that decision. She has spoke of her Pastor Brother Textor and how he made a difference in her life. He has since past on to be with the Lord, but the legacy of his life will forever remain in ours. Since my mother received the Baptism of the Holy Ghost, my sisters have received the Holy Ghost, their children have been filled, I have received the Holy Ghost, and now my children are receiving the same gift. Countless generations to come will also receive this gift, all because of one man winning one soul.
One man reaches one soul. One soul reaches one more. One more reaches another. Another reaches two........
Never underestimate the calling God is placing in your heart to just reach a single soul.
That one soul you are reaching for could very well be the legacy you leave behind.
