Your legacy begins in your heart, in your relationship with God.
“How blessed is the man who fears the LORD, who greatly delights in His commandments. His descendants will be mighty on earth; The generation of the upright will be blessed.” Psalm 112:1-2
As an estate planning attorney, I deal with people who want to get their affairs in order and make sure that what they have goes where they want it to go. However, on average, an inheritance is gone in about five years because of careless debts and bad investment behaviors. I have seen many inheritances hurt more than help the recipients.
The real questions for Christians is not what they leave behind that can be measured in dollars, but rather what can they leave that has a more lasting effect. I was doing some ancestry research and came across Peter Grant and I found his will. He had little of this earth to leave, but he recited his belief in Jesus and bequeathed his faith to his future generations. I realized his faith he left was for me.
It made me think. What am I going to leave behind when I leave this world? I hope it will be more than tangible and monetary things and will last longer. I hope I leave behind positive influence on others. Our legacy is what we leave in others and not just in our family.
What Kind of Legacy Do You Want To Leave?
A husband and wife who walked by faith and, consequently, left a legacy far beyond anything they could have imagined, lived in the early 1700s in colonial America. Their names were Jonathan and Sarah Edwards.
Jonathan Edwards felt God’s call to become a minister. He and his young bride began a pastorate in a small congregation. During the years that followed, he wrote many sermons, prayers, and books, and was influential in beginning the Great Awakening. Together they produced eleven children who grew into adulthood. Sarah was a partner in her husband’s ministry, and he sought her advice regarding sermons and church matters. They spent time talking about these things together, and, when their children were old enough, the parents included them in the discussions.
The effects of the Edwards’s lives have been far-reaching, but the most measurable results of their faithfulness to God’s call is found through their descendants.
Researchers found 1,400 Edwards descendants.
* 100 lawyers and a dean of a law school
* 80 holders of public office
* 66 physicians and a dean of a medical school
* 65 professors of colleges and universities
* 30 judges
* 13 college presidents
* 3 mayors of large cities
* 3 governors of states
* 3 United States senators
* 1 controller of the United States Treasury
* 1 Vice President of the United States
What kind of legacy will you and your mate leave? Will it be lasting? Will it be imperishable and eternal? Or will you leave behind only tangible items—buildings, money, and/or possessions?
The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to invest his life in faithful men who would be able to pass God’s truth on to the next generation. Where does God want you and your mate to invest the time you have been given?
What kind of legacy will you leave?
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
Praying the IOU’s of Psalms: John Piper
I: Incline my heart to Your Understanding
O: Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in Your Word
U: Unite my heart to fear You More
S: Satisfy me this morning with Your Unfailing Love
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The owners of Pax & Beneficia Coffee in Irving, Texas, are concerned that in our politically divisive days, “we are quick to demonize and dehumanize the other side.” So, they have a solution: anyone who buys a cup of coffee with someone of an opposing view will get a free cup.
One of the owner’s notes, “Regardless of the outcome of the election and which side of the aisle you’re on, the nation still needs to heal, now more than ever.” Jim Denison
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Mental health is improved by thinking the right kind of thoughts. The Bible instructs us to think on things that are True. Honorable. Right. Pure. Lovely. Admirable. Excellent. And Praiseworthy (Phil. 4:8). In doing so, we can fulfill the command “to gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Pet. 1:13). This simply means to discipline your thinking.
Healthy thinking is looking at life in a balanced way. Developing a proper perspective. Focusing on the good. Being thankful. And employing discernment.
Indeed, our thinking and our feelings impact us physically. As Jerry Augustine succinctly expressed it, “The body manifests what the mind harbors.”
But what about your spiritual health?
Too often the health of the soul is overlooked and forgotten. Mankind is a composite of physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. To ignore the spiritual element is to do so at your own peril. Research has shown that there are physical, mental and emotional benefits connected to one’s spiritual well-being.
A stronger immune system, a lower risk of depression, reduced stress, lower blood pressure and more restful sleep have all been connected to a healthy spiritual life.
John’s prayer for Gaius was that his physical health and material prosperity be equal to that of his soul. What would your life look like if your physical health was based on your spiritual health?
Spiritual health is only achieved when we come to the great Physician for healing. Faith, Hope and Love are the vitamins for the soul. When they are supplemented by prayer, worship, fellowship, and Bible study and then exercised in our ministry, we will be spiritually healthy. Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Aristotle
God doesn’t call us to be different from the world. He calls us to be better than the world. Ken Whitten
Good friends are like stars. You don’t always see them, but you know they’re always there.
Have you noticed when we want to pick examples of our enemies, we can always find their worst possible examples as proof of their inferiority? Dwight Short
Let’s not allow an election, our earthly citizenship, or our patriotism to diminish, denigrate, or dishonor our heavenly citizenship. Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
You must never forget that you’re a citizen of heaven’s kingdom and that your behavior should correspond to your citizenship. Ken Weliever, The Preacherman
The Greatest Blessings in Life Are Often the Most Forgotten. The Minimalist
Whatever you are, be a good one. Abraham Lincoln
Faith is more than believing that there is one God. Marty Stubbblefield
We can disagree without hating each other. Spencer Cox
We forget what we should remember, and we remember what we should forget. Ken Whitten