Legacy…of what?

Legacy…of what?  2 Timothy 1.3-6

Hello.

Legacy … whether we want to or not, we all leave one.  And similarly, we have been left a legacy as well. Truth is, we have no control of the legacy we have been handed, but we sure do have a hand in the one we leave behind.  Besides material things, we can choose to leave a positive legacy of truth, faith, love, and godly values or one that looks more like chasing after the wind.  Legacy … what will yours look like?  Will your progeny say you spun out an example of service, loyalty, hard work, and selflessness, or one that always showed how right you were, tending to be critical of everything and everyone, or something else?   A positive legacy at its root seems to include commitment, some humility, faith and one eye cast toward touching others’ lives in some positive way.

Paul wrote, “I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.

For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.” 2 Timothy 1.3-6

Paul eludes to his own legacy of faith which had been passed down to him through ancestors who also served God.  Then, he referenced Timothy, who was brought to faith through Eunice, his mother, and Lois, his grandmother—three generations of faith.  Timothy came from a great heritage of faith. Then Timothy was mentored and trained by Paul, who loved him so dearly … can you imagine being mentored by Paul?

I think of myself—I know that both of my grandmothers, for sure, passed on strong Christian faith, to my mother and my dad.  In turn, I have raised my four children to know the love of God and to know and love him in return. And now, I watch as my two grandsons are similarly being raised with knowledge of the God who loves them.   Legacy … a thing handed down ~ in this instant, legacy of the God who loves, of the God who never leaves us by ourselves, of the God who is worthy of our faith ~ legacy of years and years of training in the sacred scriptures, the truth of God’s heart toward us, his plans for us.  Legacy as mother taught child to pray, took child to church, taught child about Jesus … and the grandma who does the same.  Grandma who rocks baby by day, praying over him, and singing lullabies …  then prays over her teen-aged sons’ big old frames in their beds at night.  Legacy of faith. 

Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it.  [Proverbs 22.6]  To me, it is definitely a promise of God. 

Paul further encourages young Timothy, “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.”  ‘Do not let this legacy of faith die!  Oh Timothy, you must not be the ember that goes out!  Remember what you have in you, and persevere in the faith that lies in you!’ 

So, what will you pass on?  What will your legacy resemble?  Will you give your child truth?  Answers?  Hope?  Point them to God?  Peace?  Recently, I passed the baton in the leadership of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, and no longer lead the high school students; but I will tell you that there is a hunger and a thirst in young people to know God, to seek out truth.

‘Not sure where to start with your young person?  Tell him God has stirred something in you—you aren’t sure where it is going, but it sure has woke you up!  Tell him!  And hey, Woman … are you feeling beaten down in your marriage?  Or parenting?  It is never over as long as you can still pray.  You serve a great big God.  Remember what you have in you, and persevere in the faith that lies in you!

Christine