This is the chorus of Nicole Nordeman’s song, “Legacy”:
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 guess everyone eventually asks the question: Did my life make a difference? Non-believers think about legacies too, but the Christian is concerned with the Heavenly Father’s judgment. He does not examine with ‘worldly wisdom,’ and his evaluations are perfect. “His (the believer’s) work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man’s work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames.” (I Cor 3:13-15) The raging fires in California look tame compared to God’s holy fire.
Most don’t even try to understand such a passage, for the world disregards God and considers only the temporal. The believer knows the eternal is most important so he must ask, “What will God’s fire consume?” This can be a frightening thought and the faint of heart might decide not even to make an attempt. “God is such a perfect judge; I’m just going to bury my talent to make sure I don’t lose it.” Jesus’ parable warns against such a poor strategy as the Master pronounced a dreadful sentence on such a one: “Throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
So what’s your strategy? You know these writings are usually writings to myself. It’s like God asks me to write down what he wants me to live out. Here’s my side of the conversation: “Lord, I don’t want the world’s type of legacy… I want to think like you do. When your fire falls on much that I’ve done in my life, I know it will burn like grass. I’m not going to pretend; forgive me of my sins, my pride, my presumption, and my unbelief. I know I must build on what you’ve done. I know I’ve sinned and fallen short of your glory, but I will hold to the rest of the sentence… that I have been justified freely by your grace through the redemption that came by Jesus. Thank you. So, Lord, you have proclaimed me righteous through your Son, let me live up to what I’ve attained. I know I must build on Jesus Christ. Everything else is going to burn, isn’t it? Only those things solidly built on him, through him, and in him will last. So, Lord, give me wisdom. Give me eyes to see; give me ears to hear. Lord, I offer myself to you. Let me be diligent to use everything you’ve given me for your glory. Lord, fill me with your Spirit that I may not be fooled or distracted by the evil one. Lord, let me build wisely with a heart set on eternity. Let me not be lazy. Let me not be foolish. Let me not be selfish. I depend on you, Lord, Christ in me, the hope of glory. Unless you build the house, I labor in vain. May your Kingdom come and may your will be done in me and in my family and in this earth as it is in Heaven. Amen.”
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds. For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.” I Cor 3:10-11