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In the “The Bucket List” Morgan Freeman and Jack Nicholson play two old men carrying out their life-long wishes before their terminal illnesses take their lives. Jack’s character is filthy rich and provides the means for the trips and excursions that they take together. Wanting to leave their mark on the world they do some of everything. (I won’t tell the whole movie, rent it.) But when I think about that movie in context, it proves to me that God has created every being with a purpose. Everyone wants to leave their mark on the world. Their “I was here”. It makes total sense, because we are eternal beings that were created to carry out a God-given purpose. This point has been written about in several books so I’m not preaching a new subject[1]. But it baffles me how individuals, Christian and non-Christian alike, struggle through life without purpose and wonder if the imprint they are making will be remembered. This Father’s Day weekend, I challenge you to think about leaving a lasting legacy--on purpose. Why “on purpose”? Frankly, because too many individuals leave legacies “on accident” and what they leave may be embarrassing to loved ones, or worse, forgotten as the days pass by.

When I speak of leaving a legacy, I mean one that is to be cherished generation after generation. So where else can we go, but God’s word to provide instructions on how that is done. A book given to me by my mom several years ago on Father’s Day has been something that I refer to often. It is entitled “God’s Promises for Fathers”. It is a collection of scriptures on various topics that face fathers. It has been a tremendous encouragement to me in the valleys of my life. One of the passages is Psalm 112. Verses 1-3 read:

“Praise the Lord! Happy are those who fear the Lord. Yes, happy are those who delight in doing what he commands. Their children will be successful everywhere; an entire generation of godly people will be blessed. They themselves will be wealthy, and their good deeds will never be forgotten.” (NLT)

I believe this passage provides the ingredients to leaving a powerful, purpose-filled legacy to your family. It begins by calling those that fear the Lord blessed. These are individuals that are blessed by just delighting in doing what God commands. Unfortunately, we often mistake the fear of the Lord for something that it is not. Plainly put, fearing the Lord results in obeying his commands. When I realize that God is sovereign and the only monarch reigning in my life, I fear the Lord. There can be no other idols (or gods) before him. It is building a trust in his way for my life and forsaking all other ways. If I don’t do this, I create a struggle between two wills that often put me in a position to disobey. As humans, God has given us free choice. It is the freedom to choose his way of doing things or our way of doing things. This free choice is the only way to authenticate our love for him. How do you tell if someone loves you? Give them the choice of loving something or someone else and see what they choose. This is what God has done for us. When we choose to love God and obey his commandments (see John 14:15), we create a legacy that will last.

How does this impact our family? A man that follows after God has a family that will follow after him. I rarely find a man that spends time in relationship with God that does not pass that principle on to his children. Now don’t get me wrong, we may experience those prodigal years that make it seem that we have forgotten how we were raised. But countless individuals have eventually come back to their “roots” and acknowledged the principals that they were taught as children by parents and grandparents (see Proverbs 22:6). In Genesis 12, God made a covenant promise to Abraham to bless his seed if he obeyed his commands. From his obedience the entire nation of Israel was born. If this isn’t a legacy I don’t know what is. Do you remember that old song, often sung at Vacation Bible School:

“Father Abraham how many sons,

How many sons has Father Abraham,

I am one of them and so are you,

So let’s just praise the Lord…”

Is everyone destined to birth a nation like Abraham? Maybe not, but we all have been given a purpose during our time here on Earth. Furthermore, we have to make it count by fearing the Lord and obeying his commands. This is the only way to leave a lasting legacy.

[1] “Purpose-Driven Life” by Rick Warren, “The Good Life” by Chuck Colson and many others.

"'Christ in You...'" from Dale Krebbs

The Saints Who Slept