And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. (Hebrews 10:24-25)
Four months after assuming the helm of Christianity Today (part of the Rev. Billy Graham’s legacy), the new president and CEO, timothy Dalrymple, said, “The work of God is not about the fireworks of human talent, it’s about faithfulness to a divine call.” 1
Each of us has been given a specific purpose in God’s plan, a mission only we can accomplish on this earth. Part of our life journey is to discover this calling and to become the person God created us to be. Even though the faith planted in our hearts was once the size of a mustard seed, it slowly grows— through the Father’s unconditional love, the whisperings of His Spirit, and the hope that comes only from Jesus.
As our eyes of faith evolve, we begin to recognize more of God’s many blessings and see that even our weaknesses and brokenness play a part in His plan for us and this world. We move through our days in continuous discovery of who we are in Him, while He slowly molds us into our intended selves. As we live our lives being faithful, the seeds of our good works are being scattered here and there as God sees fit. We may never know where they land or when they might grow and bear fruit.
These seeds are nurtured by God to become the harvest of His redeeming work in the world; “…for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfill his good purpose” (Philippians 2:13). They sprout up as a living remembrance… a legacy of our unique spiritual journey with God.
The inheritance we leave behind is not simply a hefty bank account or investment portfolio or property on the coast; it is a legacy personally shaped by God throughout our lifetime. Since “He has planted eternity in the human heart…” (Ecclesiastes 3:11, Nlt), each spurt of growth we experience and each nugget of wisdom we uncover further defines us and therefore the legacy we leave for those who come after us.
The seeds that inspire others have fallen upon good soil and produce “…a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown” (Matthew 13:23).
Our faith encourages us to mirror God’s generosity. Jesus revealed to us that, through Him, we are heirs to God’s kingdom.The treasure God has bequeathed to us is far greater
than land or wealth; it is truly the Promised land—eternity with our Father, our Savior, our Comforter. Peter describes it as “an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you…” (1 Peter 1:4).
Knowing this, we can easily embrace our divine call and bequeath a spiritual legacy that can live on through generations to come. living each day seeking God’s purpose, no moment is ever wasted if we encourage others to do the same.
by RJ Flower-Opdycke
1 Catherine Elvy, “Stewarding an ‘Extraordinary Legacy’” Posted September 17, 2019, christianunion.org/cu-today.
