Enduring Legacy:
Reaching our Generation for Christ
Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation,
he fell asleep; … But the one whom God raised from the dead
did not see decay (Acts 13:36-37).
Stephen R. Covey in his book ‘First Things First’ expressed that people have a need ‘to live, to love, to learn, and to leave a legacy’ – and that forms the purpose of life. Laban Jumba explores the meaning of an enduring legacy in his book ‘If I could live to be 900!’ Jumba takes on the men of Genesis 5 who lived more than 900 years and wonders why their lives were described with such brevity; the oldest was Methuselah (v.25-27) and his 969 years of life are summarized in only three verses! On the other hand, Noah’s life is covered in four chapters – and here Jumba suggests that the secret of such a strong Legacy was in the fear of God and in what God counted as achievements. What in your life will God credit you for?
The Bible personalities whose many achievements God counted are repeatedly mentioned later even long after they finished their earthly life; that is evidence of their enduring legacies. In Paul’s sermon to Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, in their synagogue, David occupies a large part and he is described as one that ‘served God’s purpose in his own generation’; that was the heart of his legacy. This sermon is given as a specimen of what these apostles usually preached to the Jews, and the method they took with them. It doesn’t matter whether someone built hanging gardens in Babylon or great pyramids in Egypt or a Tower reaching the heavens – an enduring legacy in God’s kingdom had different criteria. It doesn’t even matter what poor background you had or what prejudices you suffered in your early life – David was such a forgotten shepherd boy! The criterion was and still is the extent to which one serves God’s purpose.
In such men that had enduring legacy, the Jews took pride and spiritual comfort, hoping that the merits of their ancestors would qualify them for an eternal inheritance. But not so – the merits are not just transferable, and Paul was quick to show that it was not ancestry but rather serving God’s purpose that earned the heroes their places. The one who served most perfectly was Jesus Christ himself, and his legacy should not be compared to those of mere mortals, but it cuts through generations upon generations – the most enduring. Jesus was such a servant of God that He would not let him remain in the grave to see decay – and hence the proof that Jesus is the Messiah, the Saviour. Consider actions that will earn merits for you in the kingdom of God; and in greater and sweeter reality, being connected with Jesus Christ enters believers into the joyful and fruitful life without end – the heavenly enduring legacy to the glory of God the Father.
God bless you all.