We only have one shot at living this life. It has been said that each day is a gift from God, and what we do with that day is our gift back to God. Contemplating that truth, let us ask ourselves what kind of legacy we are leaving behind? The word legacy can be defined as “something coming from an ancestor or predecessor.” You are leaving something behind for future generations. Nobody lives forever but what we do in this life very well could live well past our physical lives. The truth is our service for Christ can far outlive us. [I Cor 3:10-15]
What do you want to be remembered for; Your job title, salary, your reputation, your love and devotion to family, or your unwavering commitment to Christ? Many people live their whole lives for the applause and approval of other people. God is calling us to live for His approval alone.
Leaving a lasting legacy means living with intention and living life with purpose. What do you want your lasting legacy to be? What does God want it to be? These two must come into harmony with one another. God wants us to be zealously in love with Him and to follow His designs for our lives.
If you are simply living to make money, when you are gone those left behind will get it. If you are living to make a good name for yourself, after you die sooner or later your name will seldom be mentioned in the public arena. If you are living for the applause of men you might be reminded that the crowds lauded Jesus one day and were shouting in unison to crucify Him another day. The crowds are fickle. Elected officials may prove popular in the beginning and despised before the end of their office.
Athletes hang up their cleats, gloves, and high tops at some point. Michael Jordan was remembered as a great basketball player but now he does not play on center stage before tens of thousands of people. What does he have to live for today? Making more money that will eventually be left behind and fought over by those left behind. I played my last football game in the Panhandle of Texas one cool Saturday afternoon back in November of 1990 for Howard Payne University. That was the last time I put on shoulder pads and donned the blue and gold for the Yellow Jackets. I have not played a real game since. That is not my legacy! It is tragic to see people living in the past of their athletic accomplishments or worse yet to see them reliving it through their children.
Faithful employees are faced with retirement. Someone else sits at your work station, teaches in your class room, and holds your job title. Is your legacy relegated to what you did vocationally? Companies downsize, businesses fail and shut down, people are fired, and or relocated. Your life and legacy are more than what you did for a living.
I would submit a few suggestions for leaving a lasting legacy. First, live for something greater than yourself. For me, that means living for Jesus Christ. I want my life to be an arrow pointing people to Jesus Christ; His goodness, His supremacy, His glory, and His savoring and satisfying presence in our lives. I do that primarily through preaching and writing. There is no greater cause to live for than Jesus Christ. Why do I say this?
This past week we have all been reminded of the devastating effects of fire and wind combined. We celebrate the heroes of fire fighters who battled the blazes for days past the point of exhaustion. I am friends with several fire fighters and I admire them. I think their vocation is noble but they are not the cause that I choose to live for. Why? Their heroic efforts to save lives cannot save my life from the devastating effects of sin. Jesus is the only one who could deliver me from the curse of sin and the wrath of God. He is my ultimate hero. Nobody could ever do for me what He has already done and continues to do in wiping away my past, present, and future sins. Therefore He is the cause I live for.
In order to leave a legacy I would challenge you to invest your life in others. I have and continue to do that with my boys, with several young men who have felt called to the ministry, and men whom the Lord has placed in my path over the years. I want to leave something behind. I want to pass on what I have learned in life. I want to pass on wonderful words of wisdom that have been given to me by seasoned saints and invaluable books. Nobody gets where they are in life without the help of someone along the way. We have been blessed with terrific teachers both inside and outside the classroom. Many had great grandparents and parents who passed on their legacies to us. Some had coaches who pushed us and planted a legacy of giving our best. You have received much over the years but whom are you investing in? If you want to be serious about leaving a legacy you must invest in other people.
Several years ago I wrote a mission statement for my boys and what my goal would be in raising them. This is done by precious time spent with them. For years I have taken turns giving my boys “special time” by taking them lunch at school, taking them on preaching trips with me, taking them at one at a time with some uninterrupted and individual time with daddy. They get my undivided attention and I get to love them tangibly without interruptions. They often hear me share the truth of scripture and have seen and heard me preach and live the truth of scriptures before them. They have heard me sit at the breakfast table and teach them them the Bible because it is the most important book to me. I plead with God all of this makes Jesus real to them and they understand authentic biblical Christianity and not mere churchianity.
I am so grateful for Charles Roberts, Eli Bernard, David Munden, Bob Harper, Jimmy Downe, Jeff Robinson, Wallace Roark, and Frankie Rainey for the investments they made in my life. Each of them has left an impressionable mark on my life. I am thankful for each of them and my life is richer because of their investments in me. All that I am and will ever be to some degree I owe to these men loving, teaching, challenging, and sharpening me. [Prov 27:17]
Lastly if you want to leave a legacy, you must become a person of the book. The book I am referring to is the Bible. When you live your life, operate your family, conduct your business, relate to others, and manage your life according to principles of scripture; others will notice and your legacy will be sure. [Ps 119:165]
George Muller loved Jesus and He loved the scriptures as well has being committed to investing his life in others. He founded several orphanages and impacted the lives of thousands of orphans. His life influenced people all over the world and to some degree is still influencing people as they read his books and his writings.
One day all of us will die. We will be buried with a headstone announcing the date of our birth and death. The dash in the middle will represent the legacy we have left behind. What will that legacy be? For me it is simple. I want to point as many people as possible to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His word while investing in others along the way. My life will not have been wasted if I am allowed to live out those purposes.
What do you want to be remembered for; Your job title, salary, your reputation, your love and devotion to family, or your unwavering commitment to Christ? Many people live their whole lives for the applause and approval of other people. God is calling us to live for His approval alone.
Leaving a lasting legacy means living with intention and living life with purpose. What do you want your lasting legacy to be? What does God want it to be? These two must come into harmony with one another. God wants us to be zealously in love with Him and to follow His designs for our lives.
If you are simply living to make money, when you are gone those left behind will get it. If you are living to make a good name for yourself, after you die sooner or later your name will seldom be mentioned in the public arena. If you are living for the applause of men you might be reminded that the crowds lauded Jesus one day and were shouting in unison to crucify Him another day. The crowds are fickle. Elected officials may prove popular in the beginning and despised before the end of their office.
Athletes hang up their cleats, gloves, and high tops at some point. Michael Jordan was remembered as a great basketball player but now he does not play on center stage before tens of thousands of people. What does he have to live for today? Making more money that will eventually be left behind and fought over by those left behind. I played my last football game in the Panhandle of Texas one cool Saturday afternoon back in November of 1990 for Howard Payne University. That was the last time I put on shoulder pads and donned the blue and gold for the Yellow Jackets. I have not played a real game since. That is not my legacy! It is tragic to see people living in the past of their athletic accomplishments or worse yet to see them reliving it through their children.
Faithful employees are faced with retirement. Someone else sits at your work station, teaches in your class room, and holds your job title. Is your legacy relegated to what you did vocationally? Companies downsize, businesses fail and shut down, people are fired, and or relocated. Your life and legacy are more than what you did for a living.
I would submit a few suggestions for leaving a lasting legacy. First, live for something greater than yourself. For me, that means living for Jesus Christ. I want my life to be an arrow pointing people to Jesus Christ; His goodness, His supremacy, His glory, and His savoring and satisfying presence in our lives. I do that primarily through preaching and writing. There is no greater cause to live for than Jesus Christ. Why do I say this?
This past week we have all been reminded of the devastating effects of fire and wind combined. We celebrate the heroes of fire fighters who battled the blazes for days past the point of exhaustion. I am friends with several fire fighters and I admire them. I think their vocation is noble but they are not the cause that I choose to live for. Why? Their heroic efforts to save lives cannot save my life from the devastating effects of sin. Jesus is the only one who could deliver me from the curse of sin and the wrath of God. He is my ultimate hero. Nobody could ever do for me what He has already done and continues to do in wiping away my past, present, and future sins. Therefore He is the cause I live for.
In order to leave a legacy I would challenge you to invest your life in others. I have and continue to do that with my boys, with several young men who have felt called to the ministry, and men whom the Lord has placed in my path over the years. I want to leave something behind. I want to pass on what I have learned in life. I want to pass on wonderful words of wisdom that have been given to me by seasoned saints and invaluable books. Nobody gets where they are in life without the help of someone along the way. We have been blessed with terrific teachers both inside and outside the classroom. Many had great grandparents and parents who passed on their legacies to us. Some had coaches who pushed us and planted a legacy of giving our best. You have received much over the years but whom are you investing in? If you want to be serious about leaving a legacy you must invest in other people.
Several years ago I wrote a mission statement for my boys and what my goal would be in raising them. This is done by precious time spent with them. For years I have taken turns giving my boys “special time” by taking them lunch at school, taking them on preaching trips with me, taking them at one at a time with some uninterrupted and individual time with daddy. They get my undivided attention and I get to love them tangibly without interruptions. They often hear me share the truth of scripture and have seen and heard me preach and live the truth of scriptures before them. They have heard me sit at the breakfast table and teach them them the Bible because it is the most important book to me. I plead with God all of this makes Jesus real to them and they understand authentic biblical Christianity and not mere churchianity.
I am so grateful for Charles Roberts, Eli Bernard, David Munden, Bob Harper, Jimmy Downe, Jeff Robinson, Wallace Roark, and Frankie Rainey for the investments they made in my life. Each of them has left an impressionable mark on my life. I am thankful for each of them and my life is richer because of their investments in me. All that I am and will ever be to some degree I owe to these men loving, teaching, challenging, and sharpening me. [Prov 27:17]
Lastly if you want to leave a legacy, you must become a person of the book. The book I am referring to is the Bible. When you live your life, operate your family, conduct your business, relate to others, and manage your life according to principles of scripture; others will notice and your legacy will be sure. [Ps 119:165]
George Muller loved Jesus and He loved the scriptures as well has being committed to investing his life in others. He founded several orphanages and impacted the lives of thousands of orphans. His life influenced people all over the world and to some degree is still influencing people as they read his books and his writings.
One day all of us will die. We will be buried with a headstone announcing the date of our birth and death. The dash in the middle will represent the legacy we have left behind. What will that legacy be? For me it is simple. I want to point as many people as possible to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and His word while investing in others along the way. My life will not have been wasted if I am allowed to live out those purposes.
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