Living a Legacy
What comes to your mind when you think of a “legacy?” Whenever I officiate funerals, I often hear family members describe “the legacy” their loved one has “left behind.” What I find interesting is that most everyone uses the word legacy at the end of someone’s life. Financial planners, ministers and grandchildren alike tend to describe it in the same way—as whatever remains, as an inheritance, as something left behind.
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the phrase “left behind,” something doesn’t sit well. The phrase seems so happenstance, forced and even unintentional. For example, in the rush to get out of the house this morning, I left my breakfast behind. A few years ago, when driving to Canada for vacation, , I realized somewhere near Seattle “I left behind” my medicine. (That was an unexpected 6-hr detour!) As a kid, when we moved from Southern California to Oregon, I remember “leaving behind” my favorite couch. Unfortunately, there was no room for it in the U-Haul.
When it comes to legacy (what people remember and think about us after we are gone) maybe “leaving behind” is not the appropriate language. What would it look like if we were more intentional with our legacies?! What if we reframed this idea of “leaving a legacy” into “living a legacy?” The Apostle Paul said it this way, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV) Notice he didn’t say, “after I die,” or “when I’m long gone.” He simply said, follow me, imitate me—today. I am living my legacy now in such a way that it is worth following.
Jesus would often invite his followers into a similar posture. “Follow me. Take up your cross. Learn my patterns and rhythms for life,” Jesus would say.
How do you live life intentionally? How do you live in such a way that the next generation is inspired to model their lives and judge their achievements by you? How do we “live a legacy” that honors God and inspires others? How do you get intentional in your living? How do we do what Paul said in Ephesians 5:15, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time”?
Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, said something profound that relates to this aspect of legacy: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.”
I would say it this way, “The value of my life isn't determined by how much I achieve or accumulate to leave behind, but by how much of my life I am giving away now!”
There is a thought-provoking book by Bill Perkins entitled, “Die with Zero.” It is a fascinating read that revolves around legacy as it relates to money. Perkins argues that, “Rather than just focusing on saving up for a big pot full of money that you will most likely not be able to spend in your lifetime, live your life to the fullest now: Chase memorable life experiences, give money to your kids when they can best use it, donate money to charity while you’re still alive. That’s the way to live life.”
He goes on to say, “Your biggest fear ought to be wasting your life and time, not ‘Am I going to have x number of dollars when I'm 80?’ Start thinking more about how you use your limited time, your life energy, and you’ll be well on your way to living the fullest life you possibly can.”
The Apostle Paul said, “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Timothy 4:6-7 NLT) Notice he said his life has already been poured out. In other words, he lived his legacy. He fought the fight and finished his race.
What could this look like for you?
Let me give you a point of clarification that will help as you ponder living your legacy. Living a legacy is an act of worship, which means everything we do and are, (the legacy we live) is not about us but about God! This is so important. If we don’t keep this perspective, we will quickly fall into self-praise, self-glorification and self-importance. I think of the people at the tower of Babel who were conscious of the impact and impression they left on the world. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city…so that we may make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4 NIV) They were intent on leaving a legacy of their own greatness.
King Saul is another example of someone who began his kingship very humbly, and God commends him for it. But after a military victory, Saul decides his military prowess must be memorialized, so he builds a monument in his own honor, after which God takes his kingdom away.
On the other hand, I think of John the Baptist. He left an impact so great that Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11 NIV) Think about that—greater than even Abraham, Moses, and David.
What was John’s legacy? That he never built a monument to his legacy. He never sought self-praise, rather his legacy was an act of worship that culminated in the words: “I must decrease and he must increase.” This is why, when his followers left him to follow Jesus, John approved, saying, “I’m just the friend of the groom; he is the real deal.” John’s greatest effect was that he lived his legacy as an act of worship.
The prophet Jeremiah gives us some insight: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV)
Our lives are not in what we have done, but what God has done through us. I find it fascinating that the Hebrew word for “boast” is the same Hebrew word used in “hallelujah.” So, our boast can either glorify God or glorify self. This is why David said, “My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.” (Psalm 34:2)
So, live your legacy in such a way that brings “Glory to God” not “Glory to you.”
I don’t know about you, but when I hear the phrase “left behind,” something doesn’t sit well. The phrase seems so happenstance, forced and even unintentional. For example, in the rush to get out of the house this morning, I left my breakfast behind. A few years ago, when driving to Canada for vacation, , I realized somewhere near Seattle “I left behind” my medicine. (That was an unexpected 6-hr detour!) As a kid, when we moved from Southern California to Oregon, I remember “leaving behind” my favorite couch. Unfortunately, there was no room for it in the U-Haul.
When it comes to legacy (what people remember and think about us after we are gone) maybe “leaving behind” is not the appropriate language. What would it look like if we were more intentional with our legacies?! What if we reframed this idea of “leaving a legacy” into “living a legacy?” The Apostle Paul said it this way, “Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1 ESV) Notice he didn’t say, “after I die,” or “when I’m long gone.” He simply said, follow me, imitate me—today. I am living my legacy now in such a way that it is worth following.
Jesus would often invite his followers into a similar posture. “Follow me. Take up your cross. Learn my patterns and rhythms for life,” Jesus would say.
How do you live life intentionally? How do you live in such a way that the next generation is inspired to model their lives and judge their achievements by you? How do we “live a legacy” that honors God and inspires others? How do you get intentional in your living? How do we do what Paul said in Ephesians 5:15, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time”?
Danish philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard, said something profound that relates to this aspect of legacy: “Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forward.”
I would say it this way, “The value of my life isn't determined by how much I achieve or accumulate to leave behind, but by how much of my life I am giving away now!”
There is a thought-provoking book by Bill Perkins entitled, “Die with Zero.” It is a fascinating read that revolves around legacy as it relates to money. Perkins argues that, “Rather than just focusing on saving up for a big pot full of money that you will most likely not be able to spend in your lifetime, live your life to the fullest now: Chase memorable life experiences, give money to your kids when they can best use it, donate money to charity while you’re still alive. That’s the way to live life.”
He goes on to say, “Your biggest fear ought to be wasting your life and time, not ‘Am I going to have x number of dollars when I'm 80?’ Start thinking more about how you use your limited time, your life energy, and you’ll be well on your way to living the fullest life you possibly can.”
The Apostle Paul said, “As for me, my life has already been poured out as an offering to God. The time of my death is near. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith.” (1 Timothy 4:6-7 NLT) Notice he said his life has already been poured out. In other words, he lived his legacy. He fought the fight and finished his race.
What could this look like for you?
Let me give you a point of clarification that will help as you ponder living your legacy. Living a legacy is an act of worship, which means everything we do and are, (the legacy we live) is not about us but about God! This is so important. If we don’t keep this perspective, we will quickly fall into self-praise, self-glorification and self-importance. I think of the people at the tower of Babel who were conscious of the impact and impression they left on the world. They said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city…so that we may make a name for ourselves.” (Genesis 11:4 NIV) They were intent on leaving a legacy of their own greatness.
King Saul is another example of someone who began his kingship very humbly, and God commends him for it. But after a military victory, Saul decides his military prowess must be memorialized, so he builds a monument in his own honor, after which God takes his kingdom away.
On the other hand, I think of John the Baptist. He left an impact so great that Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11 NIV) Think about that—greater than even Abraham, Moses, and David.
What was John’s legacy? That he never built a monument to his legacy. He never sought self-praise, rather his legacy was an act of worship that culminated in the words: “I must decrease and he must increase.” This is why, when his followers left him to follow Jesus, John approved, saying, “I’m just the friend of the groom; he is the real deal.” John’s greatest effect was that he lived his legacy as an act of worship.
The prophet Jeremiah gives us some insight: “This is what the LORD says: ‘Let not the wise boast of their wisdom or the strong boast of their strength or the rich boast of their riches, but let the one who boasts boast about this: that they have the understanding to know me, that I am the LORD, who exercises kindness, justice and righteousness on earth, for in these I delight,’ declares the Lord." (Jeremiah 9:23-24 NIV)
Our lives are not in what we have done, but what God has done through us. I find it fascinating that the Hebrew word for “boast” is the same Hebrew word used in “hallelujah.” So, our boast can either glorify God or glorify self. This is why David said, “My soul makes its boast in the Lord; let the humble hear and be glad.” (Psalm 34:2)
So, live your legacy in such a way that brings “Glory to God” not “Glory to you.”
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1 Comment
This piece has given me much to think about Pastor Adrian, and it makes me wish I had read it earlier in my life! Thank you for the inspiration and encouragement to do life differently.