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A good friend of mine, Rod Guptil, announced one message in a series of sermons he was about to preach in the following way:

“EVERYONE LEAVES A LEGACY. Not just the good and admirable leave legacies. Hitler, Jack the Ripper, Osama bin Laden all left legacies. You can’t choose ‘whether’ to leave a legacy, you only choose ‘which’ legacy you will leave.”

When my son was barely three years old we were missionaries in Zimbabwe, Africa.

The house we lived in had a large back yard we had turned into a vegetable garden with a compost pit at the very back.

I was in the habit of going back there so I could pray out loud without anyone being able to hear me – except the Lord, of course.

One morning I was engaged in worship thinking I was completely alone. I raised my hands and cried out, “I praise you, Lord!”

To my complete surprise I heard a little voice call out behind me, “I praise you, Lord!”

I turned to see my son’s face turned toward Heaven, a look of absolute delight upon his face. Seeing me from the kitchen door, he had followed me and engaged himself in copying my behavior.

I have never forgotten that incident and have often speculated, “What if I had been doing something else at the back end of that garden? What if I had been cussing, or had met with someone else engaged in nefarious deeds? What then? Would my son be the godly man he is today, or would he be man of doubtful character, passing on to his progeny an ungodly life-style?

It bears thinking about, and setting a course that will not leave a shameful legacy to future generations.

© Sunday 21st June 2015 – by Christopher Shennan)

The Legacy

The legacy I leave may be

A blessing or a curse, some day:

Blessing future generations,

Or leave stumbling blocks in the way.

An awesome choice we have to make;

Not if we leave a legacy,

But which one we leave behind for

Future generations to see?

People around me are watching;

Children and grandchildren will know

Just what kind of life I have lived –

To show them which way they should go.

I want to leave a legacy

That will challenge and inspire them;

A goal to strive for – to die for –

Whatever life brings to test them.

The legacy I leave behind,

Must include lost sinners, found;

For how could I whom Christ loved most –

Go all alone while Heaven bound?

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