2021-05-23
Proverbs 10:7 NIV
Inventor Charles F. Kettering once said, “The greatest thing this generation can do is lay a few stepping-stones for the next generation.” Short term, when people recall your name, they may talk with admiration about what you accomplished and acquired for yourself. Long term, what they’ll remember most is what you did for others. That’s why the Bible says, “The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.”
If you want to be a blessing to others, (1) you must truly care about people and show it, and (2) you must appreciate how great an impact a good legacy can have. Educator D. Elton Trueblood is said to have written, “We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.”
The great orator Henry Ward Beecher said: “We should so live and labor in our times that what came to us as seed may go to the next generation as blossom, and what came to us as blossom may go to them as fruit. This expresses the true spirit in the love of mankind.”
So what will your legacy be? What must you stop doing…start doing…or do more of to make it a reality? It’s never too early to start thinking about what you want your life to mean after you’re gone. Just like the PS at the bottom of a letter, your legacy tells the people who follow you: “This is what my life was all about!”
Soul food: Acts 1:4-8; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Cor 12:1-13
Acts 4:13 NIV
Being ‘under the influence’ of something means to be controlled by something or someone other than yourself. Our family and friends, the books we read, and the social media accounts we follow all have an influence on us and help shape who we are today. It works like this: the people who speak into our lives influence our thinking, our thinking influences our actions, our actions influence our character, and our character determines our destiny.
We can be influenced by others without being aware of their power over us – hopefully they’re having a good influence on us, but they could be having a bad influence – so it’s important that we’re mindful of who and what we’re surrounding ourselves with.
The best influencer we can have is Jesus. We need to allow Him to speak into our hearts and minds by reading the Bible and spending time in prayer. The more time we spend with Him, the more we’ll become like Him.
When the disciples were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost, they were transformed to the extent that some people thought they were drunk. But Peter said: ‘These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people”‘ (Acts 2:15-17 NIV). Two chapters later, we read this: ‘When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realised that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus’ (v.13 NIVUK).
And the Holy Spirit, who is simply the influence of Christ, can transform our lives too.
Acts 1:4-8; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Cor 12:1-13
2021-05-22
Psalm 61:5 NLT
The story’s told of a hypochondriac whose tombstone read: “Now maybe you’ll believe I was sick.” Seriously, what would you like your grave marker to say about you? In Walden, Henry David Thoreau voiced his concern that when it came time to die, he would discover he had never fully lived.
When it comes to your legacy, here are two things you need to keep in mind: (1) Nobody will care about the legacy you leave as much as you do. So, be intentional when you decide on your legacy; that way, you greatly increase the odds of making an impact on the next generation. (2) The sum of how you live your life each day becomes your legacy. Tally each action over many years, and you can see your legacy begin to take shape.
In Inspiration and Ideals, Grenville Kleiser writes: “Your life is like a book. The title-page is your name. The preface is your introduction to the world. The pages are a daily chronicle of your efforts, trials, pleasures, discouragements, ambitions, and achievements….Day by day your thoughts and acts are being inscribed as evidence of your success or failure….Hour by hour the record is being made which must stand for all time. One day the word “Finis” must be written. Let it then be said of your book that it is a record of noble purpose, generous service, and work well done.”
Most of us don’t get to choose when or how we’re going to die, but we all get to decide how we’re going to live. And that’s the legacy we leave to those who follow us.
Soul food: 1 Ki 6-7; Mark 10:35-52; Ps 97; Prov 12:1-3
Psalm 61:6 AFR53
Daar is ‘n storie oor ‘n hipokonderse persoon wie se grafsteen gelees het: ‘Ek het julle mos gesê ek is siek!’ Wat wil jy hê moet eendag op jou grafsteen staan? In Walden, het Henry David Thoreau sy bekommernis uitgespreek dat wanneer sy tyd kom om te sterf, hy sal uitvind dat hy nooit ten volle gelewe het nie. Wanneer dit by jou nalatenskap kom, is daar twee dinge wat jy in gedagte moet hou:
1) Niemand sal soveel vir jou nalatenskap omgee soos jy nie. Wees dus doelgerig wanneer jy op jou nalatenskap besluit; op hierdie manier verhoog jy die kans aansienlik om ‘n impak op die volgende generasie te maak.
2) Die som van hoe jy jou lewe elke dag leef, word jou nalatenskap. Tel elke aksie oor baie jare op en jy sal jou nalatenskap sien vorm aanneem.
Grenville Kleiser skryf in Inspirations and Ideals: ‘Jou lewe is soos ‘n boek. Die voorblad is jou naam. Die voorwoord is jou bekendstelling aan die wêreld. Die bladsye is ‘n daaglikse weergawe van jou pogings, probleme, plesiere, teleurstellings, ambisies en prestasies. Dag na dag word jou gedagtes en dade opgeskryf as bewys van jou sukses of mislukking. Uur na uur word rekord gehou van dit wat vir altyd moet staan. Een dag moet die woorde ‘Die Einde’ geskryf word. Laat daar van jou boek gesê word dat dit ‘n opgawe van edele doelstellings, vrygewige diens en goed gedane werke is.’
Die meeste van ons kan nie kies hoe of wanneer ons gaan sterf nie, maar ons almal kan kies hoe ons gaan lewe. Dis ons nalatenskap aan diegene wat ons volg.
Sielskos: 1 Kon 6-7; Mark 10:35-52; Ps 97; Spr 12:1-3
Proverbs 10:7 NIV
At a funeral, there’s usually a time when people speak about the person who’s died. They often share memories and what they loved about the person. What do we want people to say and remember about us? It’s probably not going to be how much money we made, what grades we got in our exams, or the things we owned.
Our legacy should be more about how close our character was to Christ’s, how strong our faith was, the people we shared the Good News with and the positive influences we had on our communities and those around us. And we can start working towards that legacy right now.
It’s about creating a lifestyle that’s based on becoming more like Christ and living as He did. It’s about having an impact on others and using your life to glorify God. The Bible says: ‘Throw yourselves into the work of the Master, confident that nothing you do for him is a waste of time or effort’ (1 Corinthians 15:58 MSG). The work we do for God today will have an eternal legacy. It’s definitely not a waste of time.
So when we feel like we’re not making any difference or people aren’t listening when we’re telling them about Jesus, we mustn’t give up. Instead we need to keep the eternal legacy as our motivation. It isn’t about people being in awe of how great a person we were and how good a life we led; it’s about the times when God’s kingdom broke through into society because we followed God’s call to work in partnership with Him. Let’s be people who leave this kind of legacy so that others will praise God ‘from generation to generation’ (Psalm 79:13 NIV).
1 Ki 6-7; Mark 10:35-52; Ps 97; Prov 12:1-3
