Do You Know How to Leave a Spiritual Legacy?
Good Morning Friends,
Most people when that think of a legacy they think of a major gift.
And I guess that such a definition is essentially correct, but scripture implies something more.
Building a spiritual legacy requires us to live out our faith with transparency and pass down the character traits that God is refining in us. Do You Know How to Leave a Spiritual Legacy?
Scripture: This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
John 15:12 (NRSV)
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
John 13: 34-35 (NRSV)
Jesus said to him, “No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Luke 9:62 (NRSV)
When they had brought them outside, they said, “Flee for your life; do not look back or stop anywhere in the Plain; flee to the hills, or else you will be consumed.”
Genesis 19:17 (NRSV)
The good leave an inheritance to their children’s children, but the sinner’s wealth is laid up for the righteous.
Proverbs 13:22 (NRSV)
In the same way, every good tree bears good fruit, but the bad tree bears bad fruit.
Matthew 7:17
Message: Like many people, you probably want to impact your world with your life. And you are impacting your world—even if you don’t realize it. Every day, without knowing it, we are passing on who we are, what we possess and what we learn. But are we really passing down the stuff that matters? The message of passing along a legacy of faith to the next generation is found throughout scripture and is perhaps the most important way we can impact the world for good. Moses taught Joshua, Elizabeth mentored Mary, Elijah impacted Elisha, Naomi taught Ruth about God, Barnabas believed in Mark, and Paul guided Timothy and Titus. This friends is about discipleship…it is about family and friends. The legacy we leave here is not about money it is about relationships. It is a reminder that we are to teach our children through the words of scripture but also through the actions of our lives. It is about teaching others. It is to be a place that honors a commitment to a lifelong relationship with the family members and God….a spiritual legacy. This is the blueprint for discipleship. Today’s devotional gives us some insight into honoring those who have left a legacy in us, those who have died but given us so much before we could repay them. The answer to this dilemma and to honoring Jesus is found in His command that we love one another. Honoring the how of the love is the tough part. That is where the concept of paying it forward comes into play…the concept of asking that a good turn or debt be repaid by having it done or paid to others instead. Jesus’ example on this is consistent…He loved His disciples as a servant, washing their feet. He died for the sins of the world and we can’t pay that back. But in response to this unpayable debt we can love one another. Notice that the focus is forward. As further guidance Jesus
also said, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and
looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” You may remember about Lot’s wife and the severe consequence for looking back. Even a glance is deadly. You cannot plow a straight field if you look back. You cannot sail a straight course if you look back. You cannot love with usefulness unless you are looking forward. There is absolutely no reward for the Kingdom in a look back for a pay back. So you have a choice on your focus…the past or the future. And so a legacy is etched into the minds and hearts of others in the stories they share about how you helped to carve out a little bit of the future. And here the richest legacy friends is the truth and that comes with honesty. And that can mean sharing our innermost fears, hopes, disappointments, as well as victories. Perhaps the greatest legacy we could ever leave might well be the history of how we felt. And if this is passed on to others with how Christ was part of it, then in a way it becomes as a sacrament of peace. Friends, maybe Paul was joyous because he knew he was leaving a legacy Christ behind that would live on in the lives of others. Maybe that is why Christ did what he did in the first place…dying so we might have an inheritance… and then being resurrected so we might have the birthright of a new creation.
Pray we realize that God wants to give us a new legacy. Pray we be creative and relational in how we leave a legacy. Pray we leave a legacy that is a witness to our complete love of God. Pray we leave a legacy of love. Pray we encourage our children to become wise in the things of God. Pray we realize that the lasting legacy is in building up His Kingdom and righteousness for the greater glory in the transformational power of God.
Pray that this legacy… His legacy… Christ’s legacy…lives on in us…that His hope penetrates the darkest, coldest places of our hearts with a love that endures. Pray our practice of corporate prayer and reading of scripture be a legacy gift to the next generation. Pray we be good ancestors. Pray we plant more trees…the ones that bear fruit.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 