We've come to the last week of the 'Right Now' series. Our devotional reading carries us through Saturday with each day's reading focusing on leaving behind a legacy. I decided to look up the definition of legacy and here is what I found: "a gift of property, especially personal property; anything handed down from one generation to the next." So here's what I'm thinking--if it's a gift no one can buy a legacy from you; no one can earn a legacy from you because it's a gift. But the part I like best is the 'personal' part. In 2 Timothy 1:5, Paul says, "I have been 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." You can't get much more personal than that. Something personal was handed down.
Even though faith is not 'inherited' by one generation from the last like a gene (God has no grandchildren), our hearts and minds are prepared by others to hear the gospel of the glory of Christ and receive the gift of salvation. Timothy's heart and mind had been prepared from infancy (2 Timothy 3:15) by his grandmother and his mother to receive the gift of sincere faith. Wow, what a legacy!
On the other hand, Peter says there is an empty way of life that can be handed down (1 Peter 1:18). The legacy of those who don't know and trust Christ is like an empty gift box--meaningless. Apart from God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit nothing given has eternal significance. My life can be a 'splendid torch' for this generation and burn out in the brief time I'm on this earth. The Bible says the truth of God's Word is the Light! So in this world of darkness here is the splendid torch-take it and pass it on!
For God...made his light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the glory of God in the face of Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:6)
---Diane Laxen