WHAT IS YOUR LEGACY?
"Only be careful, and watch
yourselves closely so that you do not forget the things your eyes have seen or
let them fade from your heart as long as you live. Teach them to your children
and to their children after them.” Deuteronomy 4:9, NIV
I hadn’t really given
“my legacy” much thought over the years. Legacies were the purview of the rich,
famous, and powerful people of the world. Me? I was just a woman, a daughter, a
sister, a wife, a mother, doing the best I could as things happened. Who had
time to create a grand legacy?
But a few weeks ago,
the Holy Spirit began to challenge my thinking about that. Through various
means I kept getting the same message: we each, individually, whatever
and whoever we are, rich or poor, man or woman, powerful or not powerful, leave
a legacy behind when we leave this earth. As a matter of fact, we can’t not leave one!
The Holy Spirit used a
talk by evangelist Christine Caine to first grab my attention. From the book of Judges,
she spoke about how important it is for us as Christians to communicate our
faith to the next generation.
Let’s look at what
happened. Because of their unbelief, the Israelites were not allowed to go into
the Promised Land; instead, they wandered in the wilderness for 40 years until
the unbelievers died out. Then, when Moses died, the Lord told Joshua to go in
and possess the land. Just as He had held back the Red Sea for Moses so that the
Israelites could escape from Egypt, He held back the Jordan for Joshua so that
the Israelites could cross over to the Promised Land on dry land. Because the
people could see that God was with Joshua as He was with Moses, they followed
him; God gave them victory after victory, and they possessed the land God had
given them.
“The people
served the LORD
all the days
of Joshua,
and all the days
of the elders who survived Joshua, who had seen all the great work of the LORD
which He had done
for Israel.”
Judges 2:7, NASB
All was well until
Joshua and then all of the elders died.
“Then Joshua
the son of Nun, the servant of the LORD,
died at the age
of one hundred and ten...
All that generation
also were gathered to their fathers;
and there arose another generation
after them who did not know the LORD,
nor yet the work which He had done
for Israel.”
Judges 2: 8, 10, NASB
When all of the generation who were part of the original exodus from Egypt, those who had witnessed
firsthand all of the miracles that God had performed, died, the next generation after them
didn’t know God nor the mighty works He had performed for the people. They had
no firsthand experience of how God delivered His people from Egypt through the
plagues and Passover. They had no firsthand experience of the parting of the
Red Sea or the river Jordan. They had no firsthand experience of the cloud by
day and fire by night, nor the manna that fell from Heaven to feed them.
As I read those
verses I wondered, how is it possible that such a powerful legacy was not
passed to the next generation? Why didn't they know? How is it possible that the stories of God’s
miraculous delivery were not communicated with such passion and fire that the
younger generation couldn’t help but be grateful and excited about serving such
an awesome God? All we can tell from scripture is that apparently they were
not, because look what happens next:
“Then the sons
of Israel
did evil in the sight of the LORD
and served the Baals,
and they forsook
the LORD,
the God of their fathers,
who had brought them out of the land of Egypt,
and followed other gods from [among] the gods of the peoples
who were around
them, and bowed themselves down to them; thus they provoked
the LORD
to anger. So they forsook
the LORD
and served Baal and
the Ashtaroth.” Judges
2:11-13, NASB
They were only one
generation removed from witnessing firsthand the astounding miracles God had
performed to deliver them from Egypt and the astonishing victories God had
given them so they could possess the land He had promised to them; and, yet,
they turned away from God to worship heathen idols!
It is mind-blowing
and heartbreaking. And lest we think we do any better at passing on our
legacy of faith, consider this: Christianity is declining in Western Europe and
the United States. One hundred years ago, Western Europe accounted for 70% of
the world’s evangelicals; today it accounts for less than 1%. Grand and beautiful
cathedrals are empty. Some of them have been turned into retail establishments
and museums, monuments to what was, to what used to be. Why?
In the United States, American adults who identify themselves as
Christians dropped from 86% in 1990 to 77% in 2001, a drop of almost 1
percentage point a year. Why? If this trend continues at the same rate, most
Americans will identify themselves as non-Christian or non-religious by the
2035.
Why is this happening? What
would a post Christian America be like? What would it be like for our children,
grandchildren, and future descendants? As a child in the 1950's I would not believed it if someone had told me this nation would endorse abortion, killing 60
million unborn babies and still counting. (I can scarcely believe it now!) I would have said “it could never
happen here” if someone told me Christians would be persecuted in the United
States. And yet, both of those things
are happening.
My parents’
generation, often called the “greatest generation,” is known for saving the
world from the horror and godlessness of Nazism. What will my generation be known
for? What legacy will we leave? Frankly, it isn’t looking too good for us right
now. We’re in a mess. We are a mess!
But the Holy Spirit
would have us know that it isn’t too late. As long as we have breath, it isn’t
too late to declare the sovereignty of Almighty God, to declare His mighty
works, His holiness, His love. As long as we draw breath, it isn’t too late to
declare that Jesus is King of kings and Lord of lords, the Savior and Redeemer
of all mankind if only they will believe. It isn’t too late! Yet, at the same
time, we must remember that each of us has only a certain amount of time upon
the earth; we can’t keep saying “I’ll do it tomorrow,” because there may not be
a tomorrow for us. There may not be a tomorrow for the world. The time for action is now. Paul admonishes us to
“Redeem
the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16
I am so very grateful
that the precious Holy Spirit searches our hearts and reveals, without
condemnation, areas where we need to change or grow. It is a sobering thought
to me that I am leaving a legacy (whether I want to or not!). It makes me
remember that I have a responsibility to future generations to do my part to
live my Christian life with such fire and passion that they, too, will know the
Lord and the work He has done for His children. I will confess to you right now
that I am not there yet. But I am asking God to give me such a hunger and
thirst for Him, that I can pray, like David,
“You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my
whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
Psalms 63:1
I am not famous, rich,
nor powerful. I am just a woman, a mother and grandmother, a sister, a friend;
yet, I will leave a legacy. I pray that I will never forget the miracles God
has wrought in my life, the height and depth and breadth of His marvelous love
for all mankind and His children, the glory of His plan in sending Jesus to
redeem us and to adopt us into His very own family. I pray to live my life in
such a way that the next generation knows and loves God. That’s a legacy worth
having. Maybe the only legacy worth having.
THOUGHTS FOR REFLECTION
·
At this point in time, what legacy concerning my
Christian faith would I leave behind if I died? Am I satisfied with that
legacy?
Let your
light shine today, beloved, the world needs to see it!
Syandra
Have you believed? If not, choose to believe what the Bible says:
God loves you; Jesus took your sins upon Himself on the cross, dying for them;
God raised Jesus from the dead. If you believe it, then profess it, confess it,
and declare it out loud. Jesus has already done the heavy work; all we are asked
to do is believe and receive what He has done for us. Satan offers death. Jesus
offers abundant life now and eternal life when we leave our earthly bodies
behind. Choose life!
