Would you like to inherit a million dollars? Of course! There’s a lot we could do with it. Just the other day, I saw a car with a sign on it that said, “See me about leaving a million dollar legacy to your children.” When I told my family about it, my kids asked if I chased the vehicle down and I responded, “No, he got away!”  But this raises a question:  If it’s all about the money, is that what life is really all about? Think of it, if it is all about the money, most of us will not leave any kind of significant legacy. But a monetary legacy is not the only kind of legacy we can leave behind. In fact, it may not even be the best kind of legacy.

So what’s a good legacy to leave behind? Well, things such as wisdom, character, compassion and integrity are good legacies to leave behind. These are greater legacies to leave behind because people benefit from them or are improved because of you – what you did, gave, taught or inspired them with. Every one of us has the power to leave a great legacy if we start working on it now. As long as we have the gift of life, we are able to do something about it.

On the other hand, we must remember that we have the potential to leave negative legacies as well, e.g., addiction, abuse or violence. So the question is…what legacy are you leaving? Not what legacy do you want to leave – we all have great intentions – but what legacy are your actually leaving? Our lives, our actions and our choices become our legacy by default so if we want to leave behind a good legacy, we need to be intentional about it and we need to start now!

Additionally, we need to realize that a legacy is not just given, but it is also received. As we hand down our legacy to others, we also receive legacies from others. And just as we are responsible for the legacy we hand down, we are also responsible for the legacies we receive. For example, one of the legacies that my father passed down to me was the house he left me. Being that I was an only child, I received his house when he passed away. Over the past nearly 30 years, my wife and I used it for the Lord. We’ve used it for Bible studies.  We’ve had people stay with us in times of need. And, we’ve had over a hundred foster children come through our home in the past ten years. God blessed this legacy because we gave it to Him.

On the other hand, my father also left me with legacies that were not so good such as alcoholism and pornography. Nonetheless, I had the responsibility to choose what I was going to do with these legacies. I chose not to be a victim to them. Although it may be difficult to overcome these legacies and put aside behaviors that we were brought up with all our lives, the most important thing to remember is that our legacy from Jesus Christ is bigger than any legacy we may receive from the world. For greater is He who is in me than everything in the world.

So how do we leave a great legacy? Basically it comes down to one thing: Who are you living your life for? Will we live life for ourselves or for God and others? Here is a fact. Every minute you spend living for God you are building a great legacy. On the other hand, every minute you spend living life for yourself you’re building nothing. And yes, everyone needs time for themselves because we all need recreational time. But what’s the purpose of this? Is it just to have fun, or that you recognize that you need to recharge and get back out and be your best for the Lord. Just look at history. There were no Nobel prizes for greediness.  

Listen to what Jesus answered a lawyer to a question he had – Lord, what is the greatest commandment of all? And Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’” This is God’s perfect will for us, to love God and people. Notice it doesn’t say anything about your self.  And so love God completely and compassionately above everything else. Christianity is not a religion, but a relationship with Christ. It’s a privilege of living in a love relationship with the God of the universe. This is what it’s all about.

Otherwise, if we forget our relationship with God everything in life degenerates to dead religion. Therefore, relationships are the key to life and it has everything to do with our legacy. This is where it’s built as well as received. And so we are to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.

OUR RELATIONSHIPS AND WHAT WE DO WITH THEM WILL BE

OUR GREATEST LEGACY.

There are four key areas of a relationship we can work on. These are areas where we receive and leave a legacy. The first and foremost is,

1.    MY RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD.

·        THIS IS WHERE I RECEIVE MY LEGACY AND GROW INTO SOMEONE WHO HAS A LEGACY WORTH PASSING ON.

Did you know God’s plan for you is to become like Jesus? “For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to become conformed to the image of His Son,…” (Rom. 8:29 NAS)  This is God’s design for you. With everything about you become Christ-like everyday. And this happens with an intimate relationship with God. From this we are able to grow and share with others.  So our greatest relationship is with God. The second greatest relationship is…

2.    MY RELATIONSHIP WITH MY FAMILY.

One way or another we’re all connected to a personal family. And this is for better or worse. One thing to be aware of is the enemy of our souls. He steals, kills and destroys. The best place he loves to do this is within family relationships. Why? Because when we allow him, the hurts go so much deeper.

Have you noticed the closer you are to someone the easier it is to hurt them? Listen, the enemy helps us to be selfish, proud, hardheaded and unforgiving towards one another because he knows he can bring down the entire family if he can do this. He’ll make sure the only legacy that’s passed on is damaged lives. So consider the relationships the Lord has given you within your family.  

• A LEGACY OF LOVE, FORGIVENESS, AND GUIDANCE.

Jesus left His legacy of love, forgiveness and guidance for each and every one of us. Likewise, we must do the same and lay down our lives. This means laying aside our selfishness, our rights, our wants and desires for the sake of others.    

Jesus forgave us as he hung on the tortures cross. As He looked on the people who nailed him there He said, “Father forgive them for they don’t know what they do”. Jesus asked the Father to forgive the people because they didn’t understand. We as well can make this powerful statement towards others. And it will bring healing to you and to your family.

Most of us are not evil, horrible monsters that continually plot to do harm to each other. Yet, we sometimes think of each other that way. The fact is we’re just people trying to do the best we can but sometimes fail one another. In fact, even though we’re doing the best we can, we really don’t know what we’re doing. We’re simply winging it in life. Consequently, we’re unable to see the impact and it’s affect on others until after it happens. By then the hurt is done and it’s too late.

We are all God’s children and in the same boat. We all do this and suffer from it. This is why forgiveness is a precious gift given to us. Not only did God forgive us when he cleansed us from our sins between Him and us. But forgiveness He gives us for one another. This will heal your family and will cause your family to survive and triumph in struggling times. So if someone in your family has done something to hurt you, find it in your heart to forgive them.

On the contrary, if un-forgiveness remains, it will eat you up. If you can’t do it for yourself, do it for the Lord. And as you do, you’ll marvel at His power. Healing will take place within you and in others. The book of Ephesians gives instructions for those married and have children. “Husbands are to love their wives.” (Eph. 5:25).  And, “for wives to respect their husbands.” (Eph. 5:22)  Why, because if your marriage isn’t good, you’ll hand this legacy to your children. And for our children, “Don’t exasperate your children, instead train and instruct them in the Lord.”  (Eph. 6:4).  

If you ask, how do we train and instruct our children if we weren’t given this legacy while we were growing up? Then go back to the first key which is my relationship with God. He will instruct you. From there you can go to your kids and teach them what God has taught you.

Did you know that your obedience to God is the best legacy you can leave to your kids? “All these blessings will come upon you and overtake you if you obey the Lord your God:…Blessed shall be the offspring of your body…” (Duet. 28:2, 4) We’d all agree that we’d want our children to be blessed by God and to live in that blessing. And God promises this if we as parents live in obedience to Him. Although this is easier said than done, our children are worth it!

The third important key relationships are with the body of Christ. Each and every one of us is a vital and important part of this body.

3.    MY RELATIONSHIPS IN MY CHURCH FAMILY.

The Word also tells us that if one part of the body is not working properly, the rest of the body suffers. For instance, if you’ve ever stubbed your toe on the door while walking, your whole body will feel the pain. The same is with the body of Christ. If we are not working together for His purposes, then the kingdom work of God is hindered because of us. This is why need to focus on working to leave a legacy.

·        A LEGACY OF UNITY AND SERVING GOD.

The bottom line is it’s all about God and not about us. It’s not about what we want and our feelings. It’s about working together as a team and not allowing anything to get in the way such as personality differences, hurts or attitude.

A Barbie doll is a good illustration of this. Say for instance this doll is the body of Christ with all the body parts working. Now, if someone hurts someone else and offends the other person and this person decides to leave, Bam! There goes Barbie’s one arm. Then, something else happens and a Pastor brings in constructive criticism. And because they can’t handle it, they leave. Bam! Barbie looses her other arm. Then you’re working hard in your ministry and someone talks to you about your real life. And you’re not able to handle it, so you leave the ministry. Bam! Barbie looses a leg. So with who’s left in the ministry trying to run everything because everyone else is gone. They become worn out and decide to leave the ministry. Bam! Barbie looses her other leg.  And although Jesus is the head of the church, everyone now is doing their own thing. No one is now listening to Jesus. Bam! Barbie looses her head. The end result is everyone looking at the church and sees Barbie’s torso with no limbs and no head. Of course now all they’ll say is eww! Why would I want to be part of that!

The question here is who are we to tear down the body of Christ? We need nip this in the bud and see it for what it is. “Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.” (Eph. 4:2-3 NIV). God is not asking us to try, but to make every effort to keep the Body of Christ (His church) functioning as one. Because God’s work is more important than anything else going on in our lives.  

We not only have the power to leave a legacy of unity and walk with God. But the power of dis-unity. And by doing this, we’ll be personally responsible for hindering what God is trying to do. The legacy to love, forgive and guide also applies to your church family. Remember that the enemy wants to break every relationship in the body of Christ because he knows that unity in the body is his down fall.

Remember this, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.(Eph. 6:12) And so if I have a problem with you, it’s not really our problem. It’s the enemy trying to break something. So forgive one another, because the enemy is just pulling his tricks again. Be in unity so God can release His power that can change the world. And the world needs to see the entire church working together. Finally, the fourth and last key area you’ll leave a legacy is…

4.    MY RELATIONSHIPS WITH THE PEOPLE IN MY WORLD.

These are people connected to you at work, school or even on the bus. These are random people you encounter on a daily basis. Be it at the store, at the locker room or library. You can notice and show compassion to these. Smile and connect with them. Who knows, there maybe something you could help them with. This is something practical we all can do.

·        A LEGACY OF LOVE IN PRACTICAL ACTION.

“But whoever has the world’s goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him? Little children, let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth.” (1Jn. 3:17 NAS)

Remember that talk is cheap. People need to see the love of Jesus in practical action. As for me, I’m a fan of the guitar and I visit guitar stores a lot. It’s a given that when you go to a place a lot you kind of get to know the people that work there and they know you by face.

Well, one day as I was in one of my favorite guitar stores, the guy who worked there looked lower than a snake belly in a truck rut. So I asked him what was going on. He then opened up and said his living situation was driving him nuts and he couldn’t sleep. You see, he lived in a small building and everyone else living in the building were ice addicts partying and fighting all the time. It was so bad that on several occasions they tried breaking into his house to steal his belongings. And on top of this, he himself was trying to get off drugs. Therefore he was overwhelmed with the environment he was living in.

So being practical, I told him I would check the bulletin at Church for rentals. In addition, I asked if I could pray for him. And he said yes. So I prayed and asked God to either fix his situation or find him a better place. Yes, it was a very short prayer. But then God doesn’t need an essay.

As the result, two days later the police raided the building. How awesome is our God! Now all the ice addicts are gone and this guy is in awe. And to make a long story short, he became a Christian and met a wonderful Christian lady. And guess who they asked to perform their wedding ceremony? And so now we have a legacy that will go on by simply just asking how are you doing? So show love in practical action. “The King will answer and say to them, truly I say to you to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine even the least of them you did it to me.” (Mat. 25:45)

Let’s commit ourselves to leaving a legacy for others. Each of us have this power and it’s our responsibility. By doing so it could change the course of someone else’s life and would continue on to touch a multitude of others. So let’s begin with our relationship with God. From there pour it into your family, your church family and with people in your world.

Live your life for God and others. And, leave an awesome legacy. Who knows, you may impact lives that you may never know. But by doing so, you will find yourself hearing those precious words anyone could ever hear from our Lord and Master. And that is when we see Him face to face, He’ll say, well done my good and faithful servant! Let’s all be about our Father’s business with this precious gift of life we all have!

DISCUSSION SUGGESTIONS

1.      How is your relationship with God? Is there an area the Lord is calling you to be diligent and obedient to?

2.      Is there someone in your family who needs to see God’s love, forgiveness and guidance? In what practical ways can you be a conduit?

3.      In your ministry, do you find yourself serving with or without Him? And why?

4.      List different places and people you see in the world (work, school, on the street etc.). In what practical ways could you leave a legacy.

5.      What kind of legacy do you want to leave behind?