Some years ago, a church I know had a need of a bigger space because their place was getting too tight for them. So elated to see an advert that perfectly fit what they were looking for, they quickly contacted them. The lady they got on the phone sounded so happy also to have found a potential client. Then she went further to ask what they intended to use the place for. “We are a Christian organization,” they explained. “We need this place for our meetings.” BAM! The tide changed. You could feel the coldness in her voice on the other side of the line.
“I am sorry, we may not let out this building to you. We had a terrible experience with our last tenant which happened to be a church. They never lived up to the contract. They always had stories to tell at the end of each month. And finally, we were left with no choice than to evict them.” She snapped. Every attempt to coerce this lady into giving them a chance to prove their integrity fell on deaf ears. You can imagine the magnitude of their chagrin. It was huge!
The trace you leave after you have gone, that’s what legacy means. It is when you have moved out from where you used to stay, and your landlord is still willing to accept anyone from your background: Race, tribe, family, religion, profession, friend and acquittance, etc.
Legacy is when people in your former place of work can employ someone based on your recommendation. It is the blessings, the favour, and the open doors the people following you behind enjoy because of your prior actions and activities. It is what we enjoy as Christians when we are accepted, trusted, and celebrated in a place because of the name of Christ we bear and profess.
Legacies are not only usually positive. There are also very bad ones -Just like in the story above. The first church left a terrible legacy for other churches. Saul, the first king of Israel left for his children a bad type too. Because of his wicked acts, his children were drowned in the slimy pit of his evil legacy. He was brutal, reckless, and deadly, thereby crushing everything on his way to exterminate David, a man that did nothing to him. Even prophets of God weren’t spared. He downed 85 of them in one day! He incurred legacy of God’s judgment for his family forever (1 Sam 28:16-19). This legacy meant untimely deaths, abandonment and betrayal (2 Samuel chapters 3 & 4).
Ahab was another king that left a good deal of bad legacy. He wasn’t only idolatrous, he was also wicked, brutal, and deadly. He got God’s judgment in return. He left a legacy of defeat and deaths in battles for his children. God vowed to wipe off his male children (1 Kings 21:21-24).
Eli the priest didn’t do better either. He didn’t only honour his children more than God (1 Sam 3:13), he was unrepentant even when he was cautioned (1 Sam 3:18). This left his children with a legacy of tragedies upon tragedies (1 Sam 3:11 -14), up to the discontinuity of their priesthood (1 Sam 2:30.
What about Joab and Gehazi? They left behind a trailing curse of generational leprosy.
Abraham was not like those afore mentioned. Abraham was faithful and sacrificial, and what did Isaac and the generations after him get? – Extraordinary blessings from God (Gen 22:16-18, 26:22-25).
As for David, his incontestable love and fear of God brought not just for his children, but the entire nation, a legacy of divine establishment (2 Sam 7:10) and God’s unfailing love (Isaiah 55:3).
For Jonathan, His unparallel kindness, loyalty, and selflessness earned his son, Mephibosheth, a position he never solicited for in the king’s house (2 Sam 9:1-13).
Then, what can be more profound and more captivating than the everlasting legacy Jesus left for us? He says “..he that follows me shall not walk in darkness.” (John 8:12). Isn’t redemption and breakthroughs in knowledge the world is enjoying today, issues of the His brief life and mission on earth? Yes, the benefits of His legacy is larger than life itself!
Now let’s come to us. Yes, I mean us.
- Do we really care about the feeling we leave behind the people we meet?
- Does it bother us what our children see us do and say?
- Does it matter to us the impression we make about Christianity?
- Do we know that our actions and inactions now are the future legacy our children will live on?
I want to end with what Proverbs 13:22 says “A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children.” – Let’s be that good person! Let’s be responsible enough by consciously walking towards leaving a lasting, godly inheritance for the coming generation.
AMARA HOPE 