‘The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.’
Proverbs 10:7 NIV.
Inventor Charles F. Kettering once said, ‘The greatest thing this generation can do is lay a few stepping stones for the next generation.’
Short term, when people recall your name, they may talk with admiration about what you accomplished and acquired for yourself. Long term, what they’ll remember most is what you did for others. That’s why the Bible says, ‘The name of the righteous is used in blessings, but the name of the wicked will rot.’
If you want to be a blessing to others, 1) you must truly care about people and show it, and 2) you must appreciate how great an impact a good legacy can have.
Educator D. Elton Trueblood is said to have written, ‘We have made at least a start in discovering the meaning in human life when we plant shade trees under which we know full well we will never sit.’
The great orator Henry Ward Beecher said: ‘We should so live and labour in our times that what came to us as seed may go to the next generation as blossom, and what came to us as blossom may go to them as fruit. This expresses the true spirit in the love of mankind.’
So what will your legacy be? What must you stop doing…start doing…or do more of to make it a reality? It’s never too early to start thinking about what you want your life to mean after you’re gone. Just like the PS at the bottom of a letter, your legacy tells the people who follow you: ‘This is what my life was all about!’
Bible in a Year: 1 Kings 10-11, Acts 5:1-20
The Word for Today
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