What is Your Legacy? — Morning Devotions

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Transcript

Back in 1947, there was a popular movie released called It’s a Wonderful Life, and it was all about the main character called George Bailey. Now George had really big dreams of wanting to travel, but he ended up living in a little town called Bedford Falls, and unfortunately his life turned sour, his business and reputation were in trouble, and he got very depressed, and in fact, on Christmas Eve one year, he decided that his life was no longer worth living and he wanted to commit suicide.

But the film gives the story of how an angel appeared and took George on a guided tour of what the world would be like if he’d never been born.

And in the end George realises that he has made a big difference in the world even though he didn’t feel that he had. He had left an impressive legacy, he suddenly realised that that was more important than his own dreams of adventure and travel. And so he was rescued from suicide.

Now this story, I think, helps us realise one little fact, and that is that everyone’s life is important.

So who you are is important, and each day, have you realised that you’re leaving behind a legacy? Now I’m not talking about the money that you leave behind, but I’m talking about the lifetime of achievement, especially with people who love you, like your family, the community and the society in which you live.

I like what the proverbs writer said in Proverbs 3. It said, Never forget to be truthful and kind. Hold these virtues tightly. Write them deep in your heart. If you want favour with both God and man and a reputation for good judgement and common sense, then trust the Lord completely. That’s Proverbs 3:3-4. Another translation says, Let love and faithfulness never leave you.

Now we know that word love, we use it quite often, don’t we, but in the Old Testament setting, it means more than a feeling. It’s a very strong Hebrew word that means covenant or loyal love, something very strong and stable and reliable. It is a love that’s loyal and faithful, and if everyone practised this kind of love, what a wonderful society ours would be.

To write it deep in your heart, well, that means that it’s taken seriously and that person, the Bible says, wins favour in sight of God and other people. Now it’s not about impressing other people or influencing other people, and what that verse from the Bible means is that others will seek you out because of your strong qualities of genuine love. So what an impressive legacy to leave in anyone’s life. So think about how this will apply to different parts of your life.

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For example, marriage.

When a man and woman get married, they make promises to each other in the sight of God, and we call them marriage vows, and it’s only by God’s help really that we can keep these promises and live in harmony with our partner. But it also relates to our children and the depth of love that we have for our kids. And what about our friends? Do we have loyalty towards them?

Living in communities, we can leave a legacy there too, because people are watching us. They make up their own minds about us. What kind of a person am I? Do you connect with your neighbours? I think the best word that we can use here is integrity. Am I a person of integrity? Well, the path of integrity is a path of honesty. It’s straight, isn’t it? No one is perfect. I’m not saying that. And we will all make mistakes and errors of judgement, but instead of trying to make excuses or dodge the consequences of our failures, we should honestly face up to them. And if we try to cover up our lies, for example, we will get caught eventually.

So you may not think that integrity is such a big deal, but I think it really is. S

o when you think back on your life, who are the people that you remember? I have a feeling that they’re the people that have impacted your life, people who’ve been honest or kept their promises.

And so a legacy is something you leave behind. And Proverbs 13:22 has this to say: A good person leaves an inheritance for his children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.

Well, beyond the next generation, you are making a difference even after you die. So what kind of legacy are you leaving behind for your family? How will they remember you?

So it’s not about how much money you leave behind. It’s really all about the memories and values that you leave behind, and they’re the sort of things that your children and your grandchildren will talk about. So let’s do all we can to ensure that we’re building a life of love and honesty.

Let’s Pray

Well, Heavenly Father, this morning we thank you that we can leave behind a really good legacy. May that be the quality of our lives and in our honesty, integrity, because I pray this in the name of Jesus. Amen.

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