There is a lot of talk in the church and out of the church for that matter about legacy. Leaving a legacy. Building a legacy. Legacy. It could be the ultimate ego trip actually. How one will be remembered for eternity.
Of course we all have that side to our egos that needs to know we will be remembered when we die. That someone actually will grieve our loss. That someone actually thought that what we did and how we lived mattered.
The idea of leaving a legacy is the idea of pre-greiving our own loss, and the level of the legacy you want to leave is proportional to the level of one's sense of self importance. Ego. How we are respected when we die, but what legacy do we leave that really matters. Do people wax poetic about our one time existence? He was a great man. She was a wonderful mother and so on.
There are many legacies. Gerald Ford under appreciated while he was here was over appreciated after he died. His legacy barely known. He will be remembered as an American President. Did he affect my life? Probably not. If I didn't know him personally then his legacy has no bearing on me but on his friends and family he was an amazing human being.
Legacy is often a personal immediate circle concept. Unless that legacy is bad such as the one the notorious Charlie Manson will one day leave. When Charlie leaves it will be a legacy of hate, evil and murder. And it is a legacy that all of us is partially affected by. We have all had a glimpse of true evil when we think of Manson.
But what about the normal person? Legacy of love. Legacy of compassion. Legacy of good children. But are those legacy's? The very meaning of the word is supposed to be bigger than life. Those good things we do in our lives are not really legacy's they are what is required. So why is the word thrown about?
It is thrown about because we have to up the ante to what lengths people will go to in order to be praised for doing what we should already be doing. Sure I want my son to remember that I was a good dad, and that he grew up being a good child and ultimately a good man. But is that a legacy? Is it worthy of being called a legacy?
Here is what legacy really is: Leaving people with something that truly matters.
What Matters?
The only thing that truly matters at the end of the day in this life is Jesus and how we will go into eternity. If we are not leaving the world with Jesus then we are not leaving the world with a legacy.
Building a legacy is really all about taking the focus off oneself and putting everyone's focus on Jesus so that when we die it wasn't us who is remembered it is Jesus who is glorified with people giving their lives to Him.
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