Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
7 29 2026
Legacy of Who?
Can I ask you a few questions this morning? Not because I have all the answers…believe me, I don’t. In fact, some of these questions have been rolling around in my own heart for quite a while now.
Who are you…really?
I don’t mean what you do for a living, how successful you’ve been, or even what people think about you at church. I mean when everything else is stripped away…who are you becoming? What have been the greatest fears that have quietly influenced your decisions over these many years? What ambitions have gotten the better part of you? What has your work cost your family? Or maybe I should ask it another way…what has it cost the ministry God may have been calling you to while you were busy building a career?
Those aren’t easy questions, are they?
I know they’re personal. I also know every one of us has things we’d probably rather leave buried than bring into the light. We all have victories we’re thankful for and regrets we wish we could rewrite. That’s called life. But I’ve been wondering lately…who asks us these kinds of questions anymore? Who knows us well enough…or loves us enough…to press beneath the surface and ask how we’re really doing?
I hope someone does.
And I hope every one of us has someone we have given permission to speak honestly into our lives. Someone who isn’t impressed with our titles, our accomplishments or even our Bible knowledge, but loves us enough to say, “Dennis…you’re drifting.” Or maybe…”You’re becoming the man God created you to be.” Don’t we all need someone like that?
I know I do.
The older I get, the more convinced I become that spiritual inventory shouldn’t happen once every few years after a crisis. It ought to become part of the normal rhythm of our lives. David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart.” (Psalm 139:23-24). He wasn’t afraid of what God might find. He wanted to know because he wanted to become more like Him.
That takes courage.
Sometimes God shows us things we’d rather not see.
Sometimes He reminds us of things we’ve ignored for years.
Sometimes He simply whispers, “It’s time.”
The beautiful part is that as long as we have breath, it’s never too late to change direction.
I’ve heard people say, “If only I knew then what I know now.”
I’ve said those words myself.
But many of us still have ten years…twenty years…maybe even thirty years to influence the people God has placed in our lives. Why would we waste another one?
Because here’s what I’ve been thinking about.
When my life is over, nobody is going to stand around talking about how many emails I answered, how many meetings I attended, how many promotions I received, or even how many devotionals I wrote.
None of those things are really my legacy.
People are.
The people God trusted me with.
My wife.
My children.
My grandchildren.
My friends.
The men I’ve had the privilege of discipling.
The people who watched my life long before they ever listened to my words.
That thought has stayed with me.
Suppose someone sat down with your children today and simply asked, “Tell me about your dad.” Or maybe, “Tell me about your mom.”
What would they say?
Not what you hope they’d say.
What would they honestly say?
I sadly attended two funerals this last week, and nothing calls you to look inward or upwards more than that. Would they tell stories about someone who loved deeply? Someone who was present? Someone who apologized when they were wrong?
Someone who loved Jesus more than success?
Or would they quietly remember someone who was always busy…always distracted…always chasing one more accomplishment…one more promotion…one more dollar…while the people who loved them
most quietly settled for what was left over? Often times…like God.
Those questions have a way of finding us, don’t they?
Then my mind went to one of our favorite verses.
“Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart.” (Psalm 37:4)
We love that promise.
I know I do.
But I’ve also learned that God wasn’t handing us a blank check.
The promise begins with five words we often rush right past.
Delight yourself in the Lord.
Those five words change everything.
Because the closer we walk with Him, the more He changes what we delight in. He reshapes our ambitions. He softens our hearts. He begins replacing our agenda with His. We stop asking Him to bless everything we want and start asking Him to help us want what He wants.
Isn’t that really where joy is found?
Not in getting everything we wished for…
But in becoming the man or woman He dreamed we could become all along.
So let me leave you with one suggestion.
Call them.
Call your son.
Call your daughter.
Take your spouse to lunch.
Sit down with your closest friend.
Ask them one question.
“What do you think my legacy is?”
Then don’t interrupt.
Don’t defend yourself.
Just listen.
You may hear things that make you smile.
You may hear things that break your heart.
But somewhere in that conversation God just might show you what needs to change.
Because I’ve become convinced the better question isn’t, “What is my legacy?”
The better question is…
“Who is my legacy?”
And I pray that when my story is finally over…the answer won’t be my accomplishments.
It will be the people I loved…the people I served…the people I pointed to Jesus…and the people who are following Him a little more closely because, somewhere along the journey, God allowed our lives to cross.
That…
would be a legacy worth leaving.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VXIBP2BdYR8
Only Jesus Casting Crowns
“What part of this hit home for you this morning? What are you carrying today that needs prayer? If you’d like, send me a prayer request here. Let’s invite the Holy Spirit in together. (where two are gathered.) You are not walking alone. Just hit reply…
I read every response.”
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