Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
2 23 2026

Audio Version

Some Leave “Very Little” — But Heaven Says Otherwise

Can I read something this week that stuck in my ribs:
“What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived.”

And at first, I didn’t know what to do with it.  Sounds a little Hallmark-ish..but biblically?

Scripture does talks about legacy. It speaks about inheritance. It talks about generations. So is this just philosophical fluff… or is there truth here? So let’s talk:  The world says legacy is:

  • How much have you built?
  • How much did you earn?
  • How many people knew your name?
  • The size of your footprint.

But Jesus doesn’t talk like that.  In Matthew 25, when He separates the sheep and the goats, He doesn’t say:  “Show Me what you built.”  He says:  “I was hungry… did you feed Me?”

That’s not about a monument.  That’s about the movement of the heart.
So where is the friction here?   The Bible does speak of leaving something behind.

Proverbs 13:22 says, ” a good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children”. But it never tells us to chase legacy.  It tells us to pursue faithfulness.

And here’s the tension we need to wrestle with: 
Sometimes “legacy thinking” becomes ego dressed up in spiritual language.

“I want to make a mark.”
“I want to leave something big.”
“I want to be remembered.”

But Jesus says in John 15:16: “I chose you… to bear fruit …fruit that remains.”   That word “remains” … that’s legacy.  But let me challenge us all to think a little deeper… fruit grows from abiding, not from ambition.

Let me paint you a picture.  There are men who build towers. And there are men who plant orchards.

Towers impress people today.
Orchards feed people long after you’re gone.

One gets applause. The other multiplies quietly.   And heaven measures what?  …  
Is God prouder of one of his kids because he drives a Mercedes or lives in Avila? 
No…but he can certainly be proud of him for the way they did it.  But it raises the question, was he depositing seeds in his 401 (k) before he deposited seeds in Orchards to feed God’s people?

For God, it has never been about the money. Think about the widow in Mark 12.  She didn’t leave an estate. She didn’t fund a ministry.  She dropped two small coins into a box.

And Jesus stopped everything and said, “Look at her.”  Why?   Because how she lived revealed what she trusted.  Her “little” became eternal. Can I get personal and talk to you like a father for a second?

Some men & women won’t leave what the world calls “substantial.”
No buildings.
No plaques.
No biographies.

But they leave sons who pray and raise Godly families.
Daughters who worship and visit mission fields.
A wife who was loved.
Friends who saw Christ in them.

You tell me which one matters in eternity

Hebrews 11 talks about men and women who:
“Died in faith, not having received the promises…”  No visible fulfillment. No worldly triumph.   But heaven calls them heroes.

Why?
Because legacy isn’t first about what you leave behind.

Legacy is what remains because of how you lived.   The root determines the fruit. 
It is imperative that we wrap our heads and our souls around this!

If the root is pride — the fruit rots.
If the root is faith — the fruit remains.

So maybe the statement isn’t mumbo jumbo after all.

“What we leave behind is not as important as how we lived.” Because how you live determines what remains.

Proverbs 13:22 says: “A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children.” But inheritance there isn’t just money. It’s wisdom. Stability. Fear of the Lord.

That’s legacy.  So Scripture does not dismiss what is left behind. Scripture defines it as:

  • Faithfulness
  • Obedience
  • Fruit
  • Souls
  • Generational blessing
  • Eternal reward

Those are not the same as how the world lists them.

You don’t need to leave a statue.    You need to leave faith.
You don’t need your name remembered. 
You need heaven to say, “He walked with Me.”

My friends, here’s the question for us tonight:

Are we building something to impress…THEM?    Or are we becoming someone faithful?

Because fruit that remains doesn’t grow from applause.  It grows from abiding. 
And the orchard you plant in secret may feed generations you never meet.

That’s legacy.  That’s biblical.   And that’s worth living for.

Do you know someone who needs to hear this? Pass this lesson and future devotions to someone, with this Signup link:  http://eepurl.com/i_nlb2  My website to view past devotions is https://fearlesslycourageous.com

I host an Online Discovering Jesus class again on Tuesday night…Tomorrow
Febr 24th,thru March 17th at 7pm EST ONLINE for people of all ages.  Here is your link to join us on Tuesday.   If you desire to invite someone send them this email and just have them join us. https://meet.google.com/cfm-udos-iks

Turn your eyes upon Jesus lauren daigle