Are You Leaving Behind A Christian Legacy?

I was called middle-aged twice in one day this week. I won’t lie; that hurt. I’d like to slow down time and stay young forever, but despite being too immature to grow up, I’m “getting old”… and I don’t wanna. Yet as I become more accustomed to aging, I tackle grown-up concerns and consider how I spend my time, seeing as I have less of it every day. Am I wasting time on social media? (Yes. Sometimes.) Am I purposeful with the limited time I have with my loved ones? What will I leave behind for them? Hopefully, I’ll leave them a solid collection of dessert recipes and a minimal number of knick-knacks. But what I want to leave most of all is a Christian legacy.

What Is A Christian Legacy?

Simply put, a legacy is what we leave behind to those in our lives. Depending on our sphere of influence, the number of people impacted by our legacy varies. Elisabeth Elliot, for example, is tremendously famous and left a sizable legacy behind. I’m just a pastor’s wife and mother in Small Town U.S.A. I won’t make as big a ripple in the world. However, no matter how many people are affected by our legacy, it still matters.

Of course, not all legacies are Christian. In fact, I’d guess that most aren’t. So, in order to leave behind a Christian legacy, we aim to live a life with a Christian influence that endures well after we’re gone. Our spiritual impact on those near us will impact generations to come through those we influenced.

Who Is Our Christian Legacy About?

No matter what the world promotes, our legacy as Christians is not about us. Recently, I was going through some old pictures I inherited after my mother passed away. One of my biggest regrets is that I didn’t ask about the people in those pictures. There are relatives I cannot name in some of the photographs, let alone tell you what side of my family they were on or even one small fact about them. In just a couple of generations those people became nameless faces in the pictures I store in my closet. Forgotten.

Most of us will be nameless faces in someone’s photo album or digital photo files. Although I like to think I’ll be a “big deal” one of these days, I’m probably going to die in relative obscurity. How many generations after my children die until I am forgotten? I image it won’t be very many. That doesn’t matter, though, because my legacy won’t be my name or my personal accomplishments. Frankly, I’m not all that impressive.

Oh, sure. My sinful heart sometimes wants to be recognized for the “great” things I do. I’m still mystified over why there isn’t theme music playing when I get my homeschool day started. Where’s the cheering crowd when I get the house cleaned up? But I don’t need that. Everything I do, and I hope everything you do, is to serve God.

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.”

Colossians 3:23-24

I want everything I do to be in service to the Lord…with a joyful heart…willingly. I fall short, you guys. But it’s my aim to grow closer and closer to that ideal.

Christian Legacies In Action

I can’t oversell the significance of a good Christian legacy. Sometimes, though, the best way to grasp the good is to look at both the good and the bad.

Ravi Zacharias

I wrote about Zacharias after his ministry openly responded to his scandal, so I won’t go through the details here. Let’s just say that he had longtime unrepentant sin, including sexual and spiritual abuse.

Zacharias was well-known, respected, and loved by Christians around the globe. He was a huge influence in many people’s walk with the Lord. As a result of his moral failings and terrible Christian testimony, there are Christians all over the world doubting everything they believe because they can’t understand how someone claiming faith in Christ could behave in such an abhorrent way.

In addition, it has left his ministry, RZIM, in a precarious situation. The reach it once had has been severely limited, and its reputation was nearly destroyed. Ravi Zacharias’s legacy is now one of sin, abuse, and he has joined the league of disgraced pastors, apologists, and Christian leaders.

My First Pastor

The first pastor I sat under after being saved has a beautiful example of a Christian legacy. His mother and father (a pastor) were believers who served God joyfully and discipled their children, training them up in the way they should go (Provers 22:6).

My pastor married a godly woman, and they had six children. I witnessed their parenting and service to everyone around them firsthand. The last I heard, at least three of their children are in full-time ministry, and all of them are faithful servants to the Lord in their daily lives.

Are they perfect? No. On the other hand, a godly legacy has been passed down from generation to generation. And it continues today in this particular family. One day my pastor’s name will be forgotten, but there is a legacy of following Christ that will be seen, remembered, and God willing, continued in the future.

Jesus’ Legacy

Jesus showed us how to live in service to the Father. We are never going to match Christ’s example on Earth, but we should look to Him for ways to leave a Christian legacy for our loved ones. Below I’ll give just a few examples of what He did that we should imitate in our lives.

1. Forgiveness

“And Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ And they cast lots to divide his garments.”

Luke 23:34

Hanging on a cross to pay for sins He did not commit, Jesus prayed for the Father to forgive the people who mocked Him, taunted Him, and crucified Him. Forgiveness is a key distinctive in a Christian life, and it leaves an impactful legacy behind.

2. Compassion

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them, because they were like sheep without a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.”

Mark 6:34

“When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick.”

Matthew 14:14

Jesus’ ministry demonstrated a great deal of compassion for the people He encountered. Notice that His ministry involved teaching the things of God and caring for people’s needs. Compassion won’t ignore one to accomplish the other.

3. Evangelism

Jesus traveled and taught constantly throughout His ministry. He didn’t restrict teaching and preaching the gospel to Himself, though.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Matthew 28:19-20

Jesus preached to and taught people who would have been respected and who were looked down upon (e.g., tax collectors, Samaritans), and He commanded us, His followers, to do as He did. There are no caveats in this command. Make disciples of all nations. We don’t determine who should hear the gospel. Rather, like Jesus, we give it freely.

Jesus’s legacy is much more significant than I have laid out, but even in this quick look, we can see the impact we can have by continuing His legacy in our own lives. Imagine a family known for forgiveness, compassion, and evangelism. What an impact it could have on the world!

How To Leave A Christian Legacy

Almost all of us can think of someone we know who has a strong Christian legacy in her family, and even if we can’t think of anyone, we can see examples from Jesus on how to live in a way that can leave behind a legacy bigger than ourselves. A legacy that points to God, not us.

Here are 6 practical ways we, too, can leave behind a Christian legacy when we are gone from this world and present with the Lord.

1. Have joy in troubled times.

It sounds easy, but joy in trials can be one of the hardest things for a Christian to do. If you are a control freak like me, then anything not going according to plan can send you spinning. A quick word of advice: Don’t be like me.

Joy, even when things get hard, is a startling contrast to the message we get in the world which says we deserve to complain, grumble, and argue because our circumstances aren’t fair.

The testimony of a believer who displays joy in life’s troubles shows faith in God, and she demonstrates the love and care He has for her. Moreover, we increase in godly character and become more like Christ through those trials.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”

Romans 5:3-5

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

James 1:2-4

2. Give grace to others.

My husband called me out on assuming the worst in him very early in our marriage, and it has stuck with me. I immediately felt terrible, and I knew he was absolutely right. I offered no grace when he didn’t meet my expectations or made a mistake.

First, I felt guilty because I love him and knew I was not treating him well. Second, I was ashamed to realize that I had received grace unlike which anyone else but God could offer through my salvation, and yet I couldn’t offer my husband grace in our small, daily interactions!

What a blessing it is for our children to see us offering grace to each other and to them. These instances are regular reminders of what God has done for us. Furthermore, when I mess up (and I sure do!), I use it as a teachable moment to explain how I was wrong.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,”

Ephesians 2:8

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’”) For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

John 1:14-16

3. Offer forgiveness.

I mentioned Jesus forgiving earlier, and it is worthy of repeating. While we will likely never hang on a cross as Christ did, we will still have plenty of opportunities to hold grudges or withhold forgiveness from others.

A bitter heart never reflects Christ to others, and it most definitely won’t draw people in closer to hear the gospel. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is so foreign to those around us and sought after by those in need of it, that it will be hard not to notice you are different.

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”

Ephesians 4:32

“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’”

Matthew 18:21-22

4. Live a life of obedience to the Lord.

How does a legacy take hold and pass from generation to generation? Well, one big way is through a consistent life of obedience. Children growing up in homes with hypocritical parents who live by the motto, “Do as I say, not as I do,” rarely have faithful children. And no one can expect those children to raise believers themselves.

Our children, those we mentor, and others close to us can’t learn obedience to God and submission to His authority in their lives if we don’t also personally live out that obedience and submission in our own lives.

5. Don’t interfere with God’s will in your children’s lives.

We can’t raise our children to know the Lord and teach them to be obedient if we don’t mean obedience in all things. As mothers, though, we want our children nearby. The idea of missing out on our children’s marriages and our grandchildren can be enough for us to discourage them from following God’s leading…if that leading is too far away or unsafe.

We need to teach our children that they can trust God, but we need to believe that, too. God loves our children more than we love them, and He has plans for them to serve His purposes. A Christian legacy will likely lead some of our family away from us if we would only get out of the way.

“Only fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart. For consider what great things he has done for you.”

1 Samuel 12:24

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

Proverbs 3:5-6

“The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in from this time forth and forevermore.”

Psalm 121:8

6. Don’t be afraid to take a stand.

Being a Christian used to be rather benign in the United States. Most people accepted Christians as fellow citizens, had some general Bible knowledge, and being a Christian was “good.” I’m not sure I can accurately say any of those things are true anymore. So, it’s time, Christian, to stand up for your faith. Without compromise.

In order to avoid conflict, we look for ways to practice our faith quietly and to let bygones be bygones. That approach can’t work any longer. Mothers and fathers must model a strong and public faith. Christians cannot continue to allow the world to burn around them while they cower in their Christian bubbles. We need to speak up for what is right and call out evil for what it is when we see it.

A strong Christian legacy is one that stands up for what is holy and good while also speaking against sin. This shouldn’t replace the gospel or be done without love, but Christians don’t have to sit in a corner waiting for the Lord to come. Serve, teach, preach the gospel, and stand up for what is holy and good while you still can. Simply put, live a faithful, obedient, and counter-cultural Christian life.

“Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.”

Ephesians 5:11

“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”

James 4:17

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Romans 12:1-2

Final Thought

When we make plans for our death, we think through where money goes, how to be buried, and how our estate will be divided. All of that is important, and it’s part of being a responsible adult. But it’s not really all that important in light of eternity. What impact have I made that will have a lasting effect for generations to come? Am I leaving a Julie legacy or a Christian legacy?

If the legacy I leave behind is about me, then it will be short-lived and based on sarcasm and dangerously large hand gestures. However, Jesus is forever, and a Christian legacy will plant seeds of faith and train up the next generation of believers who will train up the next generation and so on. A legacy about me serves me and my ego, but a Christian legacy serves the one true God and His kingdom purposes.

What are you doing to leave behind a Christian legacy?

Image courtesy of Tyler Nix via Unsplash.