Trusting Your Legacy To Jesus
Trusting Your Legacy To Jesus
If the legacy you want to leave is not how people remember you, does that mean you failed? Find out how to trust your legacy to Jesus.
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
1 Corinthians 2:2 ESV
After I listened to Kim Smith’s presentation on Leaving a Legacy, one thing came to mind: the chorus to the Casting Crowns song “Only Jesus“. It begins with “I don’t want to leave a legacy. I don’t care if they remember me. Only Jesus” That song stuck in my head for a week. I fell asleep with it, I woke up with it, and I heard it all day.
I sincerely don’t care if people remember me, but their lives will be better if I pointed them to Jesus. That’s an eternal legacy. So then I ask myself, “Am I leaving a legacy that points to Jesus?”
What Will My Legacy Be?
As I considered my own legacy, I read a blog post where the author talked about the most important things she wanted to leave her kids. The first was Jesus, that this was a must. “But even if I fail at this motherhood thing…” she wrote.
And the assumption intrigued me. If your definition of a legacy is not how people remember you, does that mean you failed?
My teenage daughter knows Jesus, but she doesn’t embrace Him the way I wished she did. I do my best to set an example, and to seize each twinkling moment when I think she’ll tolerate me as I talk about Him. She’s a wonderful young woman with a strong moral compass, but Jesus is not one of her priorities.
As I mourned my motherly failure, Jesus told me that my daughter’s relationship with Him is not my responsibility. I’ve done my best to train her up in the way she should go. But her faith journey, her relationship with Jesus is exactly that—hers.
And here’s the real Catch 22 about a legacy. By definition, we’ll never know if we’ve left the legacy we hoped for. Only time will tell if I left a legacy of faith for my daughter or for anyone else. None of the heroes of the Bible knew they’d be remembered for millennia. When Paul was beheaded, the Bible as we know it wasn’t even a thing. He had no clue that he’d just written some of the sacred texts known to man. He just followed his calling as best he could and trusted Jesus with the rest.
Sisters, our legacy was determined long before we were born. We’ll never know how people remember us, or our ministries, nor can we control their memories. As we live this life, it’s our job to lean on Jesus, walk in our calling, and trust our legacy to Jesus.
Jesus, thank You for using other believers’ legacies to point me to You. Please use my life to do the same. Please help me to walk in my calling and trust You to use my life as You determined when time began. Please convict me when I become controlling of my own legacy. I your name I pray, Amen.
Reflection Question
Are you trusting your legacy to Jesus? Ask Him to show you where you’re taking control and how you can trust Him more.
Next Steps
Watch the Webinar
Kim Smith: Stewarding Your Spending; Leaving a Legacy
Read The Partner Post
Each week, Karen Lindwall-Bourg and Valerie Riese each write a post for the Community and Education Webinar.
Join Us on Facebook!
For more encouragement, join us on Facebook:
NACWE Freedom Facebook Group
or
Karen Bourg Companies Facebook Group
Valerie Riese
Valerie is a wife, mother, blogger, breast cancer survivor, and virtual assistant. After suffering years of debilitating anxiety, she learned that victory over anxiety comes only through surrender to Jesus. Valerie writes to point women to the Jesus as co-director of Candidly Christian, and as a freelance writer and editor. You can learn more about Valerie at ValerieRiese.com
He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
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