Fearlessly Courageous
Desk of Dennis Piller
6/23/2021
God gave you a life — It’s up to you to make it a legacy!
The dictionary defines legacy as: A gift or a bequest, that is handed down, endowed, or conveyed from one person to another. It is something descendible one comes into possession of that is transmitted, inherited, or received from a predecessor.
What makes a good legacy?
It’s those small acts of kindness done well, and without expectation of reward or recognition, that find a special place in people’s hearts and that are the most important.
While we are alive, our legacy is a mere abstraction — an idea about what we hope to leave behind. We might think of it as our mission or life purpose. At any moment our legacy is a summary of who we are and how we will be remembered should we die in this moment.
Have you ever sat your family down and told them the stories of your God journey?
If those who follow you do not know your journey, how will they have a legacy to grab on to? How will they know what was a treasure and what were toys in your life?Will they understand what was surface and what was substance in your experiences? What was temporal and what was eternal.
Even if we didn’t follow God closely, or served him regularly, there is still much God has taught you given where you are today. The humility of admitting our mistakes and illuminating the faith lessons you learned or wish you had learned, go far in shaping the hearts and minds of your family to encourage them to begin walking by faith.
Do you want your legacy to be about what God did in your life as an example to them or will this be about how good you are?
What is your mindset? What part do you play in your legacy? Are you a humble servant seeking to be a true disciple of Christ? Are you emulating the humility and the sacrifices of Christ himself? What has your Red Sea’s said about you and about how God delivered you?
Does anyone in your family know that?
How will they know the God who wants to walk their paths with them?
What comes to mind is a family sitting on the floor in a living room and one washing their feet as Jesus did for his disciples. Can you see that? Mary Magdelene, a sinner, and prostitute broke into a master’s house to pour perfume on his feet and wash his feet with her tears. We don’t need to be a priest or a pastor to leave a spiritual legacy to our family. I believe your family would forever remember the spiritual leadership and humility of such an act of love and repentance. What is there to hide at this point?
A spiritual legacy should be a clear record of your walk of faith, communicating that living for Jesus and being empowered by his grace is more than enough.
What are the most important things about Jesus that you would like your friends and family to learn from your life?
1. Write down family traditions. Even if you no longer do them, traditions give us all a sense of belonging.
2. Write down family stories of Grandparents or Great… Where was their walk of faith?
3. Write down stories about you and how God delivered you. …
4. Pass along spiritual skills and lessons. …
5. Write down family recipes. …
6. Family photos (who’s who) …
7. Start a Family Tree.
8. What spiritual changes are you ready to suggest to them in your life and hopefully theirs?
I remember when my Dad was in his last hours in a Hospital bed. All of his children sat around, read scripture, sang songs, and told of the stories we could remember about Dad. It was a holy moment, filled with both laughter and tears before we told Dad it was ok to go. I listened as he took his final breath.
My father was a quiet man. We were raised Catholic. If you lived at home, you went to church. There were tithe envelopes on his dresser even to the day he passed. Dad was a man of great character and faith and he led quietly. Honestly, it wasn’t until he lay in his last few days that the Lord brought to my remembrance the spiritual legacy my Dad left behind. I am so thankful for that and always will be.
You could put off making your legacy until tomorrow or next week but I say the world will always try and squeeze the legacy of your life with God out of your life because you are pressed too thin across the board. If you do not begin to set boundaries in your life and for your loves, they will destroy too much of what can be eternal in your life and cause you to never deliver to your circle of family and friends the real truth of eternal life and your spiritual legacy.
Will you pray with me one hour this week that you would be intentional…. You should make the time to discuss this with your spouse or a dear friend and make yourself accountable. We are not promised tomorrow.
Mercy Me Almost Home
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x7WEYwZrrs4
