“I am leaving you with a gift…” (John 14:27a NLT)
Every life leaves a legacy. It’s never a question of “if,” it’s only a question of “what kind.”
A legacy is “something that has come from an ancestor or predecessor or the past.” (Webster) Our goal as a Jesus follower is to leave “tracks” that will lead our loved ones and those in our spheres of influence to Jesus, long after our life on earth has ended.
Your life is leaving a legacy. What will it be? What will future generations remember most about you?
Just a few hours before His betrayal and brutal murder, Jesus said to His disciples: “I am leaving you with a gift – peace of mind and heart.” Think about that for a moment. Because Jesus was God in human flesh, He had all knowledge. He knew exactly what the next hours held. Every sneer and mocking word. Every drop of spit dripping from His holy face. Every slap, punch, kick, and penetrating pain of the thorns on His head and the nails in his hands and feet. He knew of the impending agony of fighting through the pain to gasp for one more gulp of air as He hung suspended between heaven and earth on the cross. But He also knew of the horribly disturbing anguish He would suffer in the garden, alone.
Yet in these last moments with His closest earthly friends, the thing He most valued, and knew those He was leaving behind would most need, was peace of mind and heart. Have you ever stopped to really think about how valuable a gift that is?
In the pressures of life that we experience moment by moment on planet earth, when we dare be honest with ourselves, what is that for which we most long? I can’t speak for you, but for me it’s peace of mind and heart. I want to know that what I’m exhausting myself to attain in this life is worth the fight. I long for assurance that the values to which I’m striving to hold fast and the banner of holiness I’m seeking to fly high with my life, are not only the things that will most honor my Savior but will most positively influence those to whom my life matters.
The millions of words that I’ve written and spoken over the course of my life have little or no value, compared to the message of the impactful impressions of my life. It’s not just what we think or even what we say, it’s how does our living align with those words? Are we living in line with the will and ways of God? And how did the right things we sought to accomplish convey the desire of our heart for the ones who knew us best and loved us most to know and love Jesus?
I have very little of material value to leave anyone. What I pray I leave is a legacy of love. I pray the message of my life shouts to those who have walked most closely with me: “I loved Jesus and whatever good was reflected in and through my life was His light and life. Because of His love in me, I sought to love you well. I know I failed often and I regret the times I hurt you. But now, my heart and mind are at peace, and I pray His peace will fill and envelope every avenue of your being. Trust Him. Love Him. Serve Him. Allow Him to flow in and through you. Don’t let anything hold you back from giving your all to His honor and fame.”
There is no life without a legacy. The only issue is, will the legacy that’s left honor Jesus or someone or something else. The choice is ours.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 