LEGACY

Exodus 10:2 “You will be able to tell wonderful stories to your children and grandchildren about the marvelous things I am doing…”

I spent some time recently with someone who I would consider on the “fast track”. They were successful in so many areas of life. They had accumulated plenty of wealth. They held a high ranking position within their organization. They had made it, so to speak. If I fail to keep a proper perspective, spending significant time with that type of individual can really mess with my thinking. I start wondering if I will ever “make it”. I can struggle with some feelings of inadequacy. Thankfully though, we were just spending some time together. No power plays going on; just two men sharing a casual lunch. And soon, the playing field evened. We began discussing dreams and aspirations. We talked about the things we wanted to accomplish in our lifetime. We even talked about how we would want to be remembered some day. As he talked about leaving wealth for his children and teaching them to always be the best in everything, I began some serious introspection. You see, he wanted a bigger home, higher status, more temporal success for him to pass on. Then, he used a word that rang louder than any other, “legacy”. He said, “I want my legacy to be…” (Surely you can figure it out by now).

Legacy is simply defined as anything handed down from the past. I have always thought as my personal legacy being whatever was left behind from me when I was gone. No, don’t get me wrong, I want to leave an attitude of success and achievement. I want to leave my children with the belief that they can accomplish anything; that they can have whatever they set their mind to and are willing to work for. But, it really sunk in during that lunch. I am building my legacy even now. You see, legacy is not something that you simply begin to accumulate after retirement or in the twilight years. Legacy is compiled every day.

In Exodus, Moses tells the Israelites that this journey would build a legacy for their children and grandchildren. They would see the most amazing work of God. But for it to be a part of their legacy, they would have to share it. As I read this passage, it reminded me of what I really want to leave as a legacy. I want to leave a powerful love for the most high God. I want to leave a powerful passion for lost souls. I want to leave a hunger for God’s word. I want to leave a legacy in my children and grandchildren of world-changing ministers. If that is so, I cannot wait until my children are grown. I cannot wait until after life is a little less hectic. I must accumulate the currency of my legacy now, and then I must share it with passion and purpose.

The measuring stick is found in a simple question. Ask yourself, “If I was forced to leave my legacy today, what would it be?” Would it be a legacy full of excuses, missed opportunities, empty promises, and materialistic ambitions? Or will it be a legacy that exudes the faithfulness and goodness of God? Will it be the type of heritage that praises the marvelous things that He has done? Choose a legacy that will live forever and share the greatness of God through your life today.