Leaving a legacy

Our church celebrated its centenary a few years ago and as part of the celebrations, some large photo boards were commissioned showing notable figures and important events from the past. 

I stood there in front of the boards one Sunday and thanked God for those who had gone before, who had often sacrificially given of their time, money and talents to lay the foundation that we were building on today, not just of a church building but a thriving community.

There were difficult times over the years, even within my memory, of upsets, disagreements and even parting of the ways, but Godly men and women had persevered through these hardships and now, on this Sunday morning, we were going again to lift up the name of Jesus to see him honoured and to give thanks for all he is doing in this day.

Legacy is something that is very important to me. I have been handed a good legacy from those in my family who went before and even though I did not appreciate for many years what they passed on to me, I do now. I am standing on the foundation they laid through prayer and hard work and making some very good choices.

Recently we have visited some National Trust properties in UK and read about men and women who worked incredibly hard, with entrepreneurial skill to create something of lasting value for those who came after. Their efforts often blessed the locality and even the nation with their creativity and philanthropy. The tragedy has often been that sometimes those who followed completely squandered their inheritance. Fortunes have been lost on the horses or at the gambling tables and in one case, amazing treasures had to be sold to cover the debts. What did those forebears think of that I wonder? 

However, the Bible is also full of those who have been handed a Godly inheritance who ignored it, turned away from God and caused great damage to their own lives but also, even more tragically, upon the people of the land. These people deserted God and bowed down to idols and encouraged the people to do the same.  This led to disaster with invading armies overrunning the land and eventually the people were taken off into exile, despite warnings from God through the prophets. 

All of us will have been passed an inheritance. Some may have had a Godly heritage, and some may have not even known where their unwanted legacy came from. Some legacies of broken lives, debt or addiction are very unwelcome but just because we inherited a problem does not mean we have to pass on one.  There are so many stories both in the Bible and in our nations of those who have chosen a different, better path. It’s always possible with God to change things for the better.

I received a good inheritance, and I want to leave a good legacy for my children and grandchildren, but I also want to make sure that not just my family but my brothers and sisters in Christ receive something of value from me. I hope that if in another 100 years there are more photo boards (or their 22nd century equivalent) of the life of our church, I will have contributed something to a thriving church. 

Legacy

But from everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him,
and his righteousness with their children’s children Psalm 103:17

Legacy was the big buzz word of the London 2012 Olympics by which it meant that the organisers wanted something to live on after the Games that would be an inheritance to the nation.  Everyone hopes that good sporting facilities and an increased desire by people to participate in sport will last long after the happy memories of the Olympics start to fade.

I believe legacy is also very important for us as Christians – that we do not just live for our lives but that we leave something after we have gone to heaven that will bless those coming after us.

We are on holiday in Wales and one day we briefly passed some women who as they went by us were singing away. One of the men with them said to us rather apologetically, ‘Revival has come.’ It is the sort of remark that would never be made in England because we have no recent history of revival unlike the Welsh. The 1904 Welsh revival is still in the collective memory over a hundred years later so when people are singing happily away it is a natural thing to say that revival has come. That is legacy.

An Anglican clergyman Henry Lyte wrote the hymn Abide with me three weeks before he died of TB in 1847.  I wonder if he knows that it is still sung regularly today and especially at FA Cup Finals and would he be delighted that 165 years after his death his hymn was used in the Opening Ceremony of the London Olympic Games to movingly commemorate the 7 / 7 London terrorist bombings?

Jarrod Cooper wrote that of the 1,394 known descendants of Jonathan Edwards, the famed 18th century revival preacher, 100 became preachers and missionaries,100 lawyers, 80 public officials, 75 army and navy officers, 65 college professors, 60 physicians, 60 prominent authors, 30 judges, 13 college presidents, 3 United States senators, and one a vice-president of the United States. 42% of his descendants made a significant contribution to society.

One of Edwards’ contemporaries, Max Jukes had 310 descendants who died as paupers, 150 criminals, 100 were drunkards, 7 were murderers, and more than half of the women were prostitutes.

God talks a lot about generations in the Bible and passing on the blessing to thousands of generations.  The Bible is filled with examples of God blessing people because of the actions of their godly ancestors.  We all leave a legacy; the question is what sort of legacy will we leave? I am very conscious of the legacy that has been left to me both individually and spiritually. My desire is that both as individuals and as a Church, we make a difference in our area of influence and leave a blessed legacy that others can build on.