09 January 2013 Devotion for Today “Your Legacy” Matthew 6: 19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures
on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but
lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys
and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there
your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:19-21 NKJV
Recently I was making my weekly visit to
the country store near where I live. It’s
the type of place that is disappearing from the landscape of American life, but
it is thriving here. It has a bench
where many of the elderly men sit and talk while enjoying a Cheerwine* and a
Moon Pie. I overheard a conversation one
day between a couple of the men seated on that bench at the store. One said, “What kind of epitaph are they
going to write on your tombstone?” The
other thought for a moment. He had been
complaining earlier of some financial problems and then spoke up and said, “I
think they will probably write this on my tombstone: “Here lies (John Smith)…back
in the hole again!”
That comment causes me to smile
today. I have gotten to that age where I
am beginning to think more and more not just about the future, but what happens
beyond that. We may not be able to
afford to have much written about us on our tombstone, but do you have a
legacy? Webster’s dictionary defines
legacy as "money or property left to someone by a will; anything handed
down as from an ancestor." In other words, a legacy is what you leave
behind. It could be money and/or property and it could be the acts that you did
that helped someone else; those things which others will remember about you. The best legacy is the impact of one’s
character and influence that will live on in the lives of others long after
they have gone home to heaven. An
inheritance of over a million dollars cannot compare to the lasting influence
of a persons’ testimony living on in the people they have touched for Jesus
Christ, and it will never be forgotten even after the ones they have known are
gone as well. The reward in heaven will
not only be the crowns Christ places upon us whenever we get there; the reward
will be measured most by the presence of the people we helped to bring to Christ
by the force of our testimony while we lived with them upon this earth.
The more our lives are lived for Christ
in serving others upon this earth, the greater our legacy will be- not just
here- but for eternity. Have you
considered your legacy today in terms of how your life will continue to impact
others long after you have gone home to heaven?
Give yourself today to one action in serving others in Jesus name and
watch how that investment will grow. Do
them every day and you will be amazed of how your eternal portfolio will grow
to a lasting legacy the glory of God.
Have a blessed day!
