Do you remember what it felt like to be nine years old and looking forward to that next birthday? You’d be in double digits!! What an exciting time! You’d never go back to single digits and who, at nine, could imagine making triple digits?!?!
But some people do make triple digits. Today is my grandmother’s 100th birthday. On Sunday, January 15, 1922 the US President was William Harding, a half-gallon of milk was around 30 cents, and there were a little over 110 million people in the U.S. The telephone had been invented, the Wright Brothers had flown at Kitty Hawk, World War I was over, but the Great Depression and World War II were coming and, later, men would land on the moon. By Saturday, January 15, 2022, the U.S. population will have grown to over 330 million, a 1/2 gallon of milk will cost over $2, and there will have been 18 U.S. presidents in office before her 100th birthday. She has three children, ten grandchildren, and a legacy of life to share with family and friends.
“Legacy” is a term associated with handing something down to someone else – whether emotionally, financially, or in memories, property, ideas, or of a faith. Not all legacies are good. When childhood sexual abuse is caused by parents and grandparents who were themselves abused, we know that evil can pass from generation to generation. And we know legacies of alcoholism and poverty, for instance, can lead to hurt, strife, and destruction.
But some legacies are very good. Those who come before us have handed down their faith, their values, their hope and optimism. Their loving care and nurture have helped us develop into the people we are. They have given us “roots and wings” for our lives and we have the opportunity to give “roots and wings” to those who come after us. The legacies we leave can have lasting impacts for generations.
One song that has challenged me about the legacy I leave is by Nicole Nordeman. The chorus of “Legacy” says:
I want to leave a legacy,
How will they remember me?
Did I choose to love?
Did I point to you enough?
To make a mark on things
I want to leave an offering
A child of mercy and grace
Who blessed your name unapologetically
And leave that kind of legacy.
Ultimately, I expect that no matter how long our lives, each of us wants to leave a legacy of mercy and grace that blesses God and leads to God celebrating over us as he says, “Good job! You’re a good and faithful servant! You proved that you could be trusted… Come and share your master’s happiness.” (Matthew 25:21 GW)
What is your legacy?
God of Yesterday, Today, and Forever,
Thank you that your steadfast mercies never change and your love and grace for your children is poured out daily. Thank you for 100th birthdays and good and godly legacies given to children and grandchildren. Thank you for those who fear the Lord and their legacies given to descendants who then have a delightful inheritance and spiritual and material prosperity. Give us hearts to seek you and to always have in mind the legacy we are leaving for others. Give us the Spirit of wisdom and revelation so we may know you better and the eyes of our hearts may be enlightened. Show us the hope you have called us to, the riches of your glorious inheritance for your holy people, and your incomparably great power for those who believe. Help us to leave a legacy of love, mercy, grace, and honor that blesses you and enriches the lives of those around us. In Christ’s name and by the empowerment of Holy Spirit we pray and celebrate, Amen.
“Who, then, are those who fear the Lord?
He will instruct them in the ways they should choose.
and their descendants will inherit the land.” (Psalm 25:12-13 NIV)
“Lord, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure.
The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
surely I have a delightful inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6 NIV)
“I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe.” (Ephesians 1:17-19 NIV)