The Legacy Question

It's become a regular part of our Community Group's "hot-seat" discussion. The hot-seat has become a great way for us to get to know other members of our group. Any "appropriate" question is fair game and sometimes some questionable ones even sneak in.

Regardless of who gets "stuck" on the hot-seat, one question always comes up, "What do you want your legacy to be?" I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this question, despite the usual difficulty people have in pulling together their responses.

I've thought a lot about the legacy question since I gave my response a couple months ago. What should my response have been or, in other words, how might God have me answer such a question. What does God want my legacy to be. I think He surely has an opinion.

I think one of the Scriptures which has helped me understand what God would have my legacy be is Jeremiah 9:24, "but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth. For in these things I delight, declares the LORD."

God would have us boast about what is most important. God says if you need something to boast about, boast in your knowledge and understanding of the LORD. To me, that translates into the best answer to the legacy question. Sure there are other good answers, but I think the verse shows us the best.

I want my legacy to be, "He understood and knew the LORD." All the other aspects of my life should help grow this understanding and knowledge or flow from it. I fear that my heart has a long way to go on this point. There are so many things I care about more then my knowledge of God. Striving after this legacy really messes with me. It should inform how I spend my time, how I study and work, how I pray and how I engage the Word of God.

There are other places in the Scriptures where God gives us truths to hang our lives on. I'm curious what verses might be this for you.