Perpetuating A Legacy

A legacy is something handed down from the past.  I have always been a little uncomfortable with "trying" to leave a legacy from my own deliberate efforts so that the world will remember that I had been here and left my mark.  Rather, for me at least, it seems more fitting to walk in unison with the Holy Spirit, obey his dictates and leave any legacy with the Lord.  Another thing about a legacy is that, even though we can leave a legacy, there is no guarantee that the next generation who inherits the legacy will perpetuate it.  Legacy perpetuation depends upon the ones who pick up the baton being moved from an internal legacy and not simply an external one.  

My wife Teresa's mother, Melba Brown just went to heaven after celebrating her 93rd birthday.  She was a Spirit-filled believer in Jesus for over 70 years!  I was honored by being asked to speak at her memorial service.  As I was in prayer regarding the service, the thought came to me that while we were facing the end of a generation it wasn't the end of a legacy.  The challenge for those of us who remain and have been influenced by the life of the departed is take on the responsibility of extending those qualities. It can't really be a thoughtful effort.  That is artificial.  To try to perpetuate a legacy is as artificial as trying to leave one in the first place. As the family was gathering for the funeral, one of my children said, "I'm glad I was raised the way your raised us.  I believe it makes us who we are."  Well, that can be a scary thought but I could tell it was meant to be a compliment.  It had just happened in a normal organic way of being family.

Teresa's Mother and Father were precious "salt of the earth" people. Her mother lost her father when she was 9, the year was 1929, the beginning of the great depression.  She had difficult teenage years and married the love of her life, Frank Brown in yet another infamous year, 1941. This was the beginning of World War II. The war impacted most everyone on the earth and especially the Brown family.  He went to war as a tail gunner on a B-25 in Europe and she stayed home, worked and prayed.  They came out of it changed but rather than becoming victims by the era they were honed by it.  Those experiences became a part of their psyche and soul.  That strength was imparted to their children.  I can tell you as an onlooker and participant that the legacy, while shaped by circumstances, has been perpetuated and a good legacy it is.  

Relax and enjoy life!  Work hard, live for Jesus and obey him.  You may not even see it in your lifetime but you will leave a good legacy and the Holy Spirit will be the steward of it for posterity.