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Whose life have you touched? Who has been influenced by what you have said and done? We all have the power to impact the lives of others for the good or bad. All of us build a legacy whether we intend to or not. The imprint of your life will touch the lives of people long after you are gone. What is legacy?
Legacy is the impression and impact of your life upon the mind, spirit, and hearts of those who walk in your wake.
Human beings have the power through their spirit to influence small things or to change the course of history. The word of God says in 2 Corinthians 5:10 that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ in our true character, in order that we might receive an award for the actions in this life in accordance to what we have done whether it be good or whether it be worthless.
This gives a new level of importance to how we should live our lives in the time that we have on earth.
Throughout human history, legacies have been left from one end of the spectrum of attitude and conduct to the other. Some men and women have left powerful, compelling, positive life imprints that have blessed parts of the human race. Some have left devastating and gut wrenching legacies that have demonstrated the worst of humanity.
In the New Testament during the time that the Messiah came on the scene, there was a self absorbed king named Herod that would go to any extent to maintain his rule. He had all-male babies under the age of two years old murdered in an attempt to thwart what he perceived as any would-be challengers to his throne.
During World War II, Hitler and the Third Reich exercised a scorched earth policy across Eastern Europe destroying, pillaging, and murdering anyone who would stand in his way as he sought world domination. History records that approximately 6 million Jews were killed as a part of an extermination policy against a specific group of people during this time.
Madeleine O'Hair was one of the litigants in the 1963 Murray vs. Curlett case which banned organized prayer in public schools. This woman, who was an atheist, along with the other parties involved in the case, aggressively utilized the courts to challenge prayer in public schools. This was one step in many by people with atheistic views to strip America of all public reference to its Judeo-Christian heritage.
Osama Bin Laden, a Saudi born Islamic extremist, used moot, dissonant, corrupt arguments to justify one of the most daring, diabolical acts of aggression and war against a nation in world history. On September 11, 2001, over 3,000 people died on American soil due to his insane philosophical perspectives as they relate to “American colonialism and imperialism.”
Serial killers such as Theodore Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer thought only of their personal perversions as they murdered others to satisfy their bizarre lust. These men and this woman prior mentioned are examples of people that have left legacies that demonstrate the human condition at its worst.
On the other hand, many have left positive legacies also. When you think of people such as the apostle Paul, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Mother Theresa, Mahatmas Gandhi, John Paul the 11, you generally think of the positive impact they have had on the human race. Though all of these people had failures and shortcomings of one kind or another, the general overall impression of them is of people who in spite of themselves, worked diligently to impact the lives of others around them with a legacy of strength, selflessness, and determination. These are traits that all of us need to grab a hold of.
The Bible records in first Samuel a very interesting series of events as it relates to a priest whom God established. His name was the Eli and he had two sons named Hophni and Phineas. These men were set up as God's men of faith and power at the temple at Shiloh. They had the responsibility to serve God's people with integrity and strength.
When God calls men or women to positions of power and authority, it is critical for them to exercise all due caution in handling God's business. Obviously, Eli was not determined to leave a legacy that would be a blessing to the nation of Israel.
His sons began to engage in vile behavior that was totally contrary to God's directive for them as priest. These men began to lay carelessly with many women at the door of the temple. Of course this wasn't enough. When the sacrificial meat was prepared to be offered unto the Lord, they would save the best portion for themselves taking that which belonged to God!
Eli had specific knowledge of his sons behaving in his way and he confronted them about it. He was obviously not concerned nor compelled enough to demand that they did not continue in this manner. He simply capitulated and more or less ignored them without really enforcing a call to change.
At this point, God had had it with this family of misfits. These men had the opportunity to build a legacy that would be a shining example to the people they served and to the nation of Israel. Their attitudes and behaviors, however, demonstrated a lack of commitment to the precepts and the laws of God. It was almost as though they had no understanding that the consequences of their actions could have incalculable affects upon the people in which they served.
Eli's sons went to rally the troops at the battle of Aphek with the Ark of the Covenant. This was not enough to change the outcome of the battle. Because of the treachery and debauchery of Hophni and Phineas and the failure of their father, Eli, to hold them accountable, God pronounced judgment on his house. He lifted his hand of protection from them. The Philistine army had a field day with the army of Israel killing over 30,000 as they fled and ran to their tents.
The two brothers were then slaughtered during the battle (see first Samuel). Once their father received the devastating news from a messenger, he was so distraught and overwhelmed that he fell backwards off of his chair and died. Eli and his sons received to themselves, the recompense of their errors
Let me ask you a reflective yet poignant question…………………
What kind of priest are you???
What is the general impression that people have about you and your service to mankind and the kingdom of God? When you have breathed you last breath and your epitaph is written, what will it say? What will people say about the kind of person you were?
I am not asking about the kind words that would likely be spoken by the preacher when you are eulogized, I am asking you what will those who know you best have to say about the life you lived??
Did you stand your ground concerning kingdom matters or did you relent, rollover and play dead when confronted by unrighteousness and matters of sin?
Did you work with diligence and determination to stay at peace with God or did you simply take the path of least resistance?
You have the power to leave an imprint on this generation that will shape the future of your home, neighborhood, community, country, and possibly the world.
We, men and women of God, Black and otherwise, are called to be priest unto our God that men might see our good works and glorify our father which is in heaven.
Again……. what will your legacy be?? Will you look at your future with a greater determination to walk with integrity and the strength of God? Will you change the heart and minds of those you see on a day to day basis for the better? The choice of the kind of legacy that you leave for your children, family, friends, community, and your nation in the face of your God is up to you!!!!
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