Legacies

We often hear questions like these: "What do you want to be remembered for?  What is your legacy?"  When we read the news, we hear about people who have passed away, leaving their marks on their occupations or industries.  Perhaps they will never be forgotten by the world of film, or literature, or athletics, but here is the question: what does it matter?  For sports, players aspire to part of their sport's histories, by winning championships and, ultimately, becoming a member of the Hall of Fame, where they can be enshrined with the other legends of their game.  Film and literature, and all other such things, have their legends as well.  With all they've done, and the great effects they've had on their industries, have they really done anything important?  How truly valuable were the impacts we remember them for?

Humans often live for their legacy.  They live to create the life that history will remember.  Yet, I do not believe this to be our purpose.  I've often had this thought: I don't need or want a legacy.  I don't need to be remembered when I'm gone.  I'm not living today for someone else's memories.  Here's what I do want: to live my life for the glory of God, for the good of His kingdom.  It doesn't matter if I'm remembered; all that matters is what I do today, and the difference it makes in the lives (and eternities) of others.  I'm fine with being forgotten tomorrow, as long as I make a difference today.

Of course, there are people in the history of our faith that we remember, as we should.  We read about men and women in the Bible - Abraham, David, Ruth, and Paul, and so on, and we should look to their stories for instruction, learning both from their successes and their failures.  There are other people we should not easily forget, such as Billy Graham.  I'm certainly not saying to forget those people who have left their mark on the world and on our faith.  What I'm saying is this: don't worry about how you'll be remembered.  Let tomorrow's histories worry about that.  We need only think on the life that God has given us, for His will is what we ought to be following.  A great reputation is worth nothing if the man behind it has done nothing.  Jesus Christ is in Heaven, waiting for the day of His return, and the time we have left must be spent furthering his kingdom, not furthering our own legacies.

The Lost

I've been feeling something coming up from the depths of my soul.  It's a passion that longs to be put into action, though I don't yet know how.  I've been praying that God will lead me in the right direction.

The world is a mess.  I look out and see turmoil, and sin, and pain, and suffering.  Everywhere we go, there are people who need a savior.  I see people who long for love and purpose, yet there is no shoulder to cry on, no one to bring them comfort.  Perhaps they are now clinging to something they think will bring them salvation.  They all have great holes in their lives, and there is only one thing that will fix what is broken.  Nothing in this world will satisfy all their needs.  There is only one power that will heal them and bring them life, and he is not of this world, nor is he limited by what this world has to offer.  His name is Jesus.  The only remedy in this broken world comes from the one who made us, the one who breathed life into us, and the one who died on a cross for us.  All else will crack and break, and leave them lost.

Each of us was born into the same world, and sin afflicts us all, holding each of us back from what we should have been.  Instead of oneness with God, we have disharmony.  Instead of eternal joy, we have all been sentenced to eternal death and everlasting separation from our creator.  We are each responsible for our own damnation, for it was our sin that tore us from Heaven's grasp.

Yet, not all is lost.  Though our sin puts us into a great debt, one we could never pay, we find ourselves no longer hopeless, no longer condemned.  For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.  There is no great task or challenge to complete for one to be saved from an eternity of death.  All we must do is accept who we are and what we have done: we are sinners, and we have separated ourselves from our loving creator.  He knows it, and we know it.  We must simply acknowledge it, believing in our heart that the blood of Jesus was spilled for us.

The good news of Christ Jesus is simple, and yet there are innumerable souls in the world in danger of ending their lives without it.  What else could possibly matter in such a life?  Those who leave this world without knowing Jesus will never see light again, thus making their Earthly lives a failure, both on their part, and on the part of those of us who failed to reach them.

I feel as though my life has a purpose in reaching the lost.  Several years ago, I was stopped by a man at a local county fair who had noticed the t-shirt I was wearing, which had a cross on it.  He said I had the gift of evangelism.  I've often wondered if that was a message from God, and if it was, what exactly it meant for my life.  I'm still not sure.  I pray that God will use me for His kingdom.

I am your tool, Father; strengthen me and make me anew, and use me according to your will.  The mind of God is great, while the mind of man is weak, and your plans, oh God, are above anything that I can even imagine.

This Will Change Your Life

Are you bald?  Then try our hair restoration product and change your life!  Perhaps your issue is grey hair, or a big belly, or marks or scars on your skin.  Or perhaps you no longer like your wardrobe, or your shoes, or your car, or your house, or your spouse.  Why keep things as they are, when changing even one small thing can change your life?  You'll feel infinitely better and your life will never be the same!

Except that nothing will really change.

Today's society is seeking change, for everyone has a gaping hole in their life, one they know needs to be filled with something.  Businesses know this need, and they look to profit from our own inadequacies by selling us something we think will change our lives.  They make us feel bad and shameful for what they call physical and lifestyle imperfections, willingly exploiting our insecurities.

We look to add true meaning to our lives, as we should, and yet we look in the wrong places.  If you're lacking hair on the top of your head, there's certainly nothing wrong with doing things to add or regrow hair, but does that really change your life?  Does changing any of the things mentioned in the first paragraph really make any meaningful difference?  Or are we simply making ourselves feel better, pretending to add great value to things whose value is minimal?  Is the difference real, or artificial?

The truth is, that while none of these things (or other such things) are bad in and of themselves, they should not be looked at as the gateway to a better life.  We should not attempt to find fulfillment or happiness in such things, for ultimately, they are temporary and superfluous.  Our happiness and confidence should not come from how we look, for merely physical attributes should not be the driving force behind our contentment in life.  Relying upon our physical bodies will ultimately lead to disappointment, for these bodies are not meant for long term dependability.  They will all fail one day, and then it depends on our heart and mind to determine our happiness.  For only a mind that has placed its reliance on God will be truly content.

So, do not conform to the ways of the world, for it will keep you wanting more, and yet will never fulfill those promises.  Only God will not let you down, and only God will bring you happiness in this life, and the life to come.  True contentment is nothing something that can be acquired through this world, but only through the man that came from Heaven to die for our sins. 

That gaping hole inside each of us can only be filled by one thing, and He's not sold in stores.