Quote from Forum Archives on May 26, 2002, 1:12 pm

Posted by: abwesleyan <abwesleyan@...>

Howdy, Fellas!

 

I thought I sent this out earlier, but apparently I did not.  I hope it may still be of use to you!  I have copied after the "signature".

 

Brian La Croix
Pastor, Aberdeen Wesleyan Church
1701 8th Ave NE
Aberdeen, SD 57401
(605) 225-2873
abwesleyan@nvc.net
www.aberdeenwesleyan.org

 

How to Leave a Positive Legacy

Various Scriptures

May 26, 2002

Introduction

Tomorrow is Memorial Day. Traditionally this is the day we decorate the graves of loved ones we have lost. Tomorrow we’ll be in Brookings to see family, and we will be decorating the grave of a son we lost to miscarriage over 4 years ago.

Some of you may remember that Memorial Day started off as "Decoration Day," and focused on those lost during war.

It has since become Memorial Day, and has broadened in perspective to include all those lost to us through death.

We remember the love and good times, the humor, or whatever it was about that person that made him or her special.

Some of the cemetery markers give us a clue to the character of the person.

Here are some tombstone epitaphs found around the world. These are actual epitaphs on actual tombstones.

Beneath this stone, a lump of clay,

Lies stingy Jimmy Wyatt.

Who died one morning just at ten

And saved a dinner by it.

Jedediah Goodwin

Auctioneer

Born 1828

Going!

Going!!

Gone!!!

1876

Tears cannot restore her --

therefore I weep.

In a New Hampshire cemetery.

 

 

Here lies

Ezekiel Aikle

Age 102

The Good

Die Young.

East Dalhousie Cemetery, Nova Scoti

Beneath his silent stone is laid

A noisy, antiquated maid,

Who from her cradle talked to death,

And never before was out of breath.

Here lies, returned to clay

Miss Arabella Young,

Who on the eleventh day of May

Began to hold her tongue.

1794-1863

Here are some on the more serious side:

A Gentle Man and a Gentleman
Jack Dempsey

A genius of comedy
His talent brought joy and
Laughter to all the world.
Oliver Hardy

A master of comedy
His genius in the art of humor
Brought gladness
To the world he loved.
Stan Laurel

The question I want to ask you is this: how do you want to be remembered?

Do you want to be remembered in a way that allows for onlookers to laugh at your tombstone? Or would you prefer to be remembered as someone who left something of real significance?

Think about what you would like on your tombstone or in your obituary.

One day a man named Alfred opened up his newspaper to find a terrible surprise: his own obituary. Actually, the man’s brother had died, but the reporter made a mistake, and printed the obituary of the man reading the paper. This man was rather famous, made famous as the inventor of dynamite, and called, "The Dynamite King" by the press; a man who had become rich from the sale of the explosive.

As disturbing as the obituary notice was, even worse was that Alfred saw how the world really saw him: a profiteer, making his millions from selling dynamite. Nothing of his desire to bring peace to nations, just that he was a merchant of death.

It could have ended there, but here is the rest of the story.

Alfred decided to do something about that reputation, so he established a foundation in his will, who would reward people for their work in the areas of economics, medicine, physics, chemistry, literature, and peace.

These would be the expression of his life’s ideals and ultimately would be why we would remember him today.

You see, Alfred was Alfred Nobel. And the most recognized acclamation in the world is the Nobel Peace Prize.

Would you like to have a positive legacy?

Today I want to give you some help in establishing a legacy that will last way beyond the time you are on earth. A legacy that will not just be remembered, but cherished.

We celebrate the Lord’s Supper as a remembrance – in memory of the Lord Jesus and His sacrifice for us. It is a legacy, not because it was a nice thing they did at the Last Supper, but because of what it represented. That Jesus would become what the bread and wine represented.

We need to leave a positive legacy.

Here are three means to the end of leaving a great legacy.

To leave a legacy…

1. Be sound in your teaching.

Listen to the words of Paul:

2 Timothy 2:2 says,

And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.

Paul was confident that what he had taught was true to Scripture, and should be passed on to succeeding spiritual generations.

We need to be active in directing our children and loved ones to the truths found in Scripture.

There are any numbers of ways to do that, but I want to stress here that it has to be active and it has to be intentional.

Pass on the lessons you have learned from the Bible and from past generations who have walked with God before you.

Share the insights you gain in your devotional life, or what you gained from the worship service.

Spend real time together in the Word of God.

Before I go on here, I need to let you know that I personally struggle with this. Can just be honest with you? I have a hard time with family devotions.

I’m not against them, I just can’t seem to get very excited about them, for some reason. Yet I am constantly reminded that not only is having family devotions a good idea, it is essential if I want to be active in promoting healthy attitudes toward Scripture and how they are relevant in our everyday life.

Would you please pray for me as I work to get this on track? I really want to do this. Normally I would just visit with my wife about this, but quite honestly, I need the accountability outside my family.

So don’t be afraid to ask my wife or me how we are coming in getting this off the ground.

I need to emphasize something here. The teachings we pass on must be sound. Listen to the advice Paul gives Titus:

Titus 2:7-8 –

7 In everything set them an example by doing what is good. In your teaching show integrity, seriousness ⁸ and soundness of speech that cannot be condemned, so that those who oppose you may be ashamed because they have nothing bad to say about us.

A couple verses later, Paul tells us some of what we should teach:

2:11 For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men. ¹² It teaches us to say "No" to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, ¹³ while we wait for the blessed hope--the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, ¹⁴ who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

We are to teach them to live upright and godly lives, in accordance with the Scriptures.

Before we move on, I want to give you a huge caution: more is caught than taught.

You might be totally true to Scripture in your teaching, but your life will reflect what you really believe about God and how to live for Him.

And that is what your children will remember.

Ask God to help you conform to His Word, and that will make your teaching sound and memorable.

To leave a legacy, make sure your teaching is sound. Next,…

II. Love as Christ loved you.

Christ loved unconditionally. Do your children and those around you see you doing that?

Can they come to you with good news or bad, and know that you love them, your initial reaction notwithstanding?

After you blow your top, can your kids be confident that you love them regardless? Do your co-workers and other associates see you caring for others regardless of how you are treated? Or do they see you only loving others when it benefits you, or for the sake of the deal?

During his last supper with the disciples, Jesus says this in John 13:34-35:

"A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵ By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another."

The next question then becomes, "how did Jesus love us?

John 15:13

Greater love has no one than this that he lay down his life for his friends.

Jesus loved us to the death.

Love your family to the death. Go all the way. Inconvenience yourself for your family. Ouch. That’s me saying that. I hate being inconvenienced, and I hate inconveniencing others.

So when I have to rearrange my schedule or my plans, I get a little bent out of joint.

God has been working on me there. I don’t want to be remembered as the dad who gives a heavy sigh of resignation and resistance when asked to do something that makes me change something.

I want to be remembered as the husband and father who did what he could when he could, and when he couldn’t, was genuinely sorry he couldn’t.

I hate preaching to myself, just in case you’re wondering.

To leave a legacy, love the way Christ loved you. Let’s move on to the third way to leave a legacy…

III. Live a life worth imitating.

Here’s where the rubber meets the road.

The time-worn phrase, "walk the talk" comes to mind.

Can you say that if you died today that others would look to you as having lived a life worth imitating?

Paul thought he could say that; look at what he says here in Philippians 4:9.

Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me--put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

I’m not there yet.

Remember what I said earlier about more is caught than taught? Here’s where it will manifest itself.

I shudder to think that my kids will someday imitate some of the behavior seen in me. I have made some huge gains, but I have a ways to go yet.

Can you look back to your parents or grandparents and see things in your life that you have adopted from them, whether good or bad?

I’ve been meeting on and off with a young fella recently who is quick to recognize traits in his father that he wants no part of. With the help of God, he will be able to leave those aside as he grows into the man wants him to be.

But along with negative things, most of us can find things from our ancestors we admire and want to be part of our lives.

Maybe it’s a strong prayer life. Maybe it’s a calm demeanor in the face of trials, or a methodical way of handling stress, or whatever. You admire that and purpose to bring that into your own life.

You are memorializing your parent when you do that.

And those are the types of things we want to see in our children as memorials of us.

The main way to be someone worth memorializing is seen in Ephesians 5:1. Listen to Paul here:

Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children

I think the best description I would like anyone to give of me is that I was an imitator of God.

Obviously, I’m not talking about performing miracles or providing salvation, but rather as someone who put the Word of God foremost, so that I could be the best possible man I could be.

Be an imitator of God, and you will be someone worth imitating.

Conclusion

Some of you are familiar with the Hank Williams, Jr. song, Family Tradition.

People are asking him why does he drink, roll smoke, and live out the songs that he wrote.

His answer is that it’s just a family tradition. You see, his father was a hard-drinkin’ man himself, and it killed him in the end, at the age of 29.

He left a legacy, but not the kind a person would be proud to emulate, outside of his musical success.

How about you?

Are you willing to work at leaving a legacy your kids would be proud to bear?

When it comes time to decorate your grave, will it be out of a sense of duty, or will it be out of love and respect for a life that was godly and was transferred to those left behind.

I know how I would want it, so I’m working to be the kind of man my children will look up to long after I’m gone from this earth.

I challenge you to do the same. Starting today. Let Memorial Day be the day for not just remembering, but for building a positive legacy. Shall we pray.