Legacy!

“One generation shall commend your works to another, and shall declare your mighty acts.” Psalm 145:4

Mary White is a communications expert she said this about what a person’s legacy is, “When a person dies, the mark the individual left on the world represents that individual’s legacy. While a person’s legacy can involve money, the concept of  legacy is much larger than the value of an individual’s estate. It is about the richness of the individual’s life, including what that person accomplished and the impact he or she had on people and places. Ultimately, the story of a person’s life reflects the individual’s legacy.”

Have you ever thought about what people will say about you when you are no longer here? Have you ever wondered what people will remember about you? As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, I have had the privilege to preach the Gospel at many believers’ funerals. On the flip side, I have also preached the Gospel at unbelievers’ funerals. There is a marked contrast    when preaching a faithful believer’s funeral instead of a non-believer. The difference is the legacy that person leaves behind.                                                                                                     Theoretical physicist Stephen W. Hawking died on March 14, 2018, at age 76. Hawking was considered to have one of the greatest minds of this generation. He died a devot atheist. He said this back in 2011, “There is no heaven or afterlife for      broken down computers; that is a fairy story for people afraid of the dark.” His legacy is all about his brilliant mind and his impact on the science world. The famous actor Clint Eastwood is an atheist. When asked about God, he said,  “No, I don’t     believe in God. If you think that nothing happens after you   die, maybe it makes you live life better“. If he does not come    to Christ, he will be known for his movies and soon will be    forgotten.  Morgan Freeman, also an actor and an atheist,     said in a 2012 interview with TheWrap when asked if he considered himself atheist or agnostic. He replied, “It’s a hard question because, as I said at the start, I think we invented God. So if I believe in God, and I do, it’s because I think I’m God.”

If someone dies without Christ as their Lord and Savior, their legacy is nothing but temporal. As a believer in Jesus Christ, your legacy will live on in other believers. God will use the seeds of the Gospel that you shared to bring others to saving faith. If God has blessed you with children, your legacy as a Christian man or woman will live on through them. As God calls His elect to Himself, He uses mothers and fathers to share the Gospel and live out their faith in front of their children. Whether you have children or not, God has called you to be His ambassadors and to share the King’s message about the Kingdom of God. God does not call us all to be people whose names will be remembered until the Lord returns. Abraham, Sarah, Issac, Jacob, Ruth, Mary, Joseph, John, Peter, Paul, and many others are recorded in scripture, and we know their legacy. There have been many faithful preachers. Charles Spurgeon and John MacArthur are just two men I have learned so much from through their faithful teaching of God’s Word. But, God uses all of us for His purpose, not just famous preachers. Were you aware that Charles Spurgeon came to saving faith on one cold and snowy Sunday morning when he walked into a small church to get out of the weather? An unknown substitute lay preacher stepped into the pulpit and read Isaiah 45:22, “Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is none else.” God used this unnamed lay preacher to bring Spurgeon to saving faith. What say you, Christian? What will your legacy be when you are gone? Will you live for Christ, share the Gospel, and run the race to the end? Will you proclaim His mighty works to the next  generation?

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark