Leaving a Legacy October 28

Thanks to Joel Smith Have you ever left home and had a funny feeling you have forgotten something? You don’t know what it is, but you just have this nagging feeling. Well, I have lived with this my whole married life!@!@ Every time my wife and I drive somewhere, she says, “Honey, we’ve got to go back home, I think I left the iron turned on. I don’t want the house to burn down.” I would turn around and go back and check and the iron would be turned off. This continued for several years. Finally on one jaunt, she told me to turn around and go check. I didn’t say a word. I pulled the car over to the shoulder, got out and opened the trunk and handed her the iron. That’s called leaving a legacy with the one you love. A number of years ago I heard about a survey of centenarians (people 100 years or older). The study asked these folks if they had any regrets about their lives. One of the top answers of the survey was: I wish I could leave something that lives beyond me. Another way of saying it is leave a legacy, something that you’ll be remembered for which will be passed on to succeeding generations. Although it’s one of the great desires of humanity, most people are forgotten a generation or two after their demise. Fellowship Group: What about you? Are you leaving a legacy of godly actions that your descendants will talk about? Will there be enduring consequences flowing from your life that will cause others to desire following in your footsteps? At my dad’s funeral, I talked with relatives and friends about this man who I loved more than anyone in the world. I found that dad’s nickname, Abe, was short for Honest Abe. Because of his integrity, the people where he worked called him Honest Abe. He was a man who refused to compromise his beliefs. That legacy followed him to the funeral and beyond. His family, friends and players he coached attributed good motives to his actions because he refused to compromise. People admire uncompromising individuals. Even if they don’t agree with them, there’s something admirable about the one who will not cave in to pressure or enticement or greed. It enables you to leave a legacy and pass the baton because a character free of compromise verifies all of your godly actions. Fellowship Group: This theme is common in the Bible. God’s people consistently provided reminders of God’s goodness so their children would remember. Are you leaving a legacy or will your children and their children and their children have to create their own from scratch? Are you giving them a foundation to build their own legacy upon or leaving them with the fading memory of an unremarkable life? In God’s sight, you haven’t completed the race until you’ve passed the baton. Focus on leaving a legacy. Look to the long-term rather than concentrating exclusively on personal, short term success. For God and for the good of the coming generations, pass the baton of faith with care. After all, you haven’t completed the race until you’ve passed the baton. God Bless Give God All the Glory Coach Campman Make a difference today, Love Clint