“You will bring them [into the land of promise] and plant them on the mountain (Mt. Moriah in Jerusalem) of Your inheritance, The place, O Lord, You have made for Your dwelling [among them], The sanctuary, O Lord, which Your hands have established. ‘The Lord shall reign to eternity and beyond.’” (Exodus 15:17-18 AMP)
A legacy is essentially an inheritance, something we leave for those whose lives our life has touched for good or ill. Some, because of their lives of crime or mayhem, leave a remembrance that scars and disappoints, even frightens those who knew them or perhaps even loved them. A parent or sibling of someone who has gone far astray.
On the other hand, when the Lord led the children of Israel out of Egypt, He had a destiny, a destination, a specific geographical location where He wanted to “plant” His people – on a mountain in Jerusalem. Both the Old and New Testaments refer to Jerusalem as “the Holy City.” According to Wikipedia: “Jerusalem has been fought over at least sixteen major times in history, with numerous sieges, attacks, and captures spanning ancient to modern times.”
Yet, to this day it remains a focal point of interest to the people of the world, but why? Because on some levels Jerusalem is the apple of God’s historical eye. He has unalterable plans for that great city revealed in His last book of the Bible when John writes in Revelation 21:2: “And I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven like a bride beautifully dressed for her husband.”
It’s a day every believer in Jesus longs for, but why? Because it’s our inheritance! It’s the promised legacy of every Jesus follower! The truth is, whatever we are living and experiencing today, no matter how wonderful or how horrible, it will pale in comparison to what we will step into on that day. Our heavenly Father has prepared for us an inheritance that will cause our knees to bow, our eyes to involuntarily fill with tears of joy, and our hearts to pound with heavenly exaltation of our Risen Savior and King.
Our minds aren’t capable of imagining a more exciting, eternally gratifying way to celebrate our coming Savior, but what if there were ways we could pass on our gracious Father’s inheritance to those in our spheres of influence? What if as earthly moms and dads we could leave a godly legacy that would honor Jesus and bless our kids?
The great man of God, Charles Spurgeon reminds us: “A father’s holy life is a rich legacy for his sons.” My sense is it could also be true to speak of a mother’s godly life’s legacy or a grandfather or grandmother, uncle, aunt, brother or sister. Any of us, whether we have children or not can leave a legacy that will honor God and bless others.
Think of the Apostle Paul, Florence Nightingale, Charles Dickens, Harold Moody, George Frideric Handel, Mary Prince, Octavia Hill, Kathleen Lonsdale, Jess Boot, Olaudah Equiano, and Mother Theresa to name a few who have literally changed the course of human history through their sacrifices and the living of bold lives for Jesus. What kind of legacy am I, are you leaving to those in our spheres of influence?
My mind turns to the powerful words of C. T. Studd when he wrote: “Only one life, ‘twill soon be past, only what’s done for Christ will last.”
Food for thought.
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 