How Will They Remember Me?

If you were gone from this earth tomorrow, what do you think you'd leave behind? I don't mean what things or people would you leave behind. I mean, what would be your legacy? How would people remember you? What would they have to say about your life?

Sometimes that is a tough thing to think about. There's so much all of us still have not done, still haven't said, still haven't experienced. But when it comes down to it, there are so few things that really bear depth and true importance. It's not where you traveled, is not the home you lived in, the car you drove, or the job you had. There is a song by Nicole Nordeman that says it all: Legacy. Here is a snippet from that song:

I want to leave a legacy

How will they remember me?

Did I choose to love?

Did I point to You enough

To make a mark on things?

I want to leave an offering

A child of mercy and grace who blessed Your Name unapologetically

And leave that kind of legacy

I don't have to look too far or too long awhile

To make a lengthy list of all that I enjoy

It's an accumulating trinket and a treasure pile

Where moth and rust, thieves and such will soon enough destroy.

Not well traveled, not well read, not well-to-do or well bred

Just want to hear instead, "Well Done, my good and faithful one..."

Boy, for followers of Christ that just says it all! Where is our focus in this life? Is it on what we don't have? WHO we don't have? Is it all about ME? Is it all about YOU? Is negativity and turmoil our legacy? Is selfishness and materialism? Is whining and playing the perpetual victim our legacy? No one wants to be remembered in a negative way. But yet, sometimes we live in such a way that it's hard for others to see much else. Are we striving for recognition? Are we working ourselves so hard in our jobs that they take over our life...over our true calling? What are we filling our lives with? What spills out of our lives onto those around us?

Are we living our lives such that when we are gone, people will say, "That person was daily seeking God, encouraging others, and working hard to lead the lost to Christ. They were a true friend and never left a word of love unsaid." Wouldn't that be awesome? The truth of the matter is that it doesn't matter what people will say when we are gone, but I'd wager that what they will say will reflect fairly accurately on our Christian walk. I want that legacy to be worthy of my calling, to be worthy of my Lord. And His words when we leave this earth are the only ones that matter! I so desperately want to hear Him say, "Well done good and faithful one..."

We should try to take time to reflect honestly on what we think our legacy would be TODAY if we were gone. If you run from those kinds of thoughts maybe you ought to question WHY you run. I've lived moments in my life when I wouldn't reflect on my life because I knew what I would see, and I didn't want to face it. The truth is no one knows how long they have to walk this earth. Let's not waste a moment of it. Refuse to tarnish your legacy! And if you are tarnishing it, STOP. Stop today and clean it up and shine it until it sparkles! Your God deserves the best from you.

Let's all start today. Let's begin to live a life that will always point to Him. Let's live in such a way that we shine, we reflect His love, we honor Him and those around us. Let's spread love and joy. I want to live each day for Him and in a way that if I left TODAY, it could be said of me, "She was daily seeking God, encouraging others, and working hard to lead the lost to Christ. She was a true friend and never left a word of love unsaid." Join me in creating a wonderful legacy. Let Nicole's song ring in your ears! It's so much more than a beautiful song, it is a calling to all of us.