Your Legacy:
Proverbs 13:22 (KJV)
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.
This is an all important passage in your Bible, and it’s also the topic I’d like to write about today. You see, unless we go in the Rapture, one of these days we’re all of us will one day die. The question then becomes, how will we be remembered?
When we die we’re all going to be remembered for the person we really were. All the polite words and the concern about hurting our feelings won’t matter and people will suddenly become brutally honest. Will be remembered as a drug addict, an alcoholic, a person who couldn’t complete a sentence without profanity or someone who was abusive to women, children or weaker people? Will we be remembered as someone who helped the sick, injured, hungry and naked? Will we be remembered as someone who prayed for anyone who asked, a Believe in Yeshua who tried to live for Him?
The way we’re remembered is very important because is this is the legacy we leave behind. My dad, who will always be my hero, was a very godly man. He was a minister all of his adult life; a hard worker, an honest man and he was a tremendous prayer warrior and teacher of Yehovah’s Word. No, he wasn’t perfect, but he was one who tried every single day to represent his Father in a good way.
When you ask people about my dad and who he was, you will rarely hear anything but good about him. You’ll hear a lot of people say that they were saved under his ministry, they were trained to be a teacher or preacher under his watchful eye and you’ll hear how he took care of the sick, the hungry, the poor and ministered in every way you can think of. People will tell you that Rev. D.J. Lillard was a man of God, a good father and loving husband. The legacy my dad left behind isn’t one of material wealth, not one of fame or a huge ministry, but his legacy is filled with wonderful ministry and care. This is the type of legacy that each and every one of should aspire to leave behind.
As we walk through our day, we need to be concerned about how people see us. If we dare to wear the name “Christian” then it is our duty to live up to that name: or at the very least make every effort to live up to it. Our job is to leave behind memories of how we worked in our church, fed hungry people, assisted the disabled or elderly and how we tried to inspire people with words that were a blessing. We need to be ever mindful of how Yeshua lived His life and, as it says in 1 Peter 2:21, to use His life as our example of how to live.
As Believers in Yeshua and His Father, Yehovah, we need to do everything we can to follow in the footsteps of our Savior. Daily we need to awake with a prayer our lips, g through the day with a prayer in our hearts. We need to daily search and study the Scriptures, help people whenever and wherever we can; not for any sort of praise or a reward of any kind, but because it’s the thing that Yeshua would do. We need to keep a word of praise on our lips, a song in our hearts and speak kindly to people and to let His precious love and light shine through us. We need to help people, love people and bless them with the salvation message.
I’ve been giving a lot of thought lately as to how people will remember me should I be called home before the Rapture. You see, for more than two decades I didn’t serve Yehovah. I ran from the Father and the call He put on my life like I was running from a hungry lion. I didn’t care what I did, where I went or who I hurt. I was chasing a dream and I wasn’t real concerned who I had to step on or step over to get there. I didn’t make a lot of friends in my field when I treated someone in bad way.
I’m concerned that some of these people who have not been around me since I came back to the Father will have just cause to speak badly of me. I don’t want that to be the case. I want to be remembered as a Christian man, a diligent minister, singer/songwriter and a man who would stop what he was doing to pray for someone when they asked. I want to be remembered for the love I have for my Savior, for the ministry work I’ve done for Him. I don’t want any fame, don’t want any glory: I do want to be remembered as a faithful Believer for the glory of my Father.
How will you be remembered? Honestly, how would people remember you if you died tonight? Would family and friends mourn the passing of a good Christian man or woman, or would they talk about what a nasty person you were? These are things that we all need to be thinking about and things that we need to be working on. We all should want to leave a legacy of love, respect, service and faithfulness to Yehovah God. We all need to stop, take an honest look at our lives and our accomplishments; then we need to go back and do our best to repair any damage so that our lives glorify the One who did so much for us.
In many sermons, my dad would look down at his congregation and tearfully make ask this very important question, the question I now ask you. “Your life is the only Bible that some people will ever read, what does yours say?” Should you life be the only Bible some people read, what would it say? There’s a question that should stop you in your tracks to reflect for a few minutes.
Blessings and peace,
Dave
