A Legacy Worth Remembering

Over the past 3 weeks we have traced Joseph’s life through the valley of abandonment, to the mountain of achievement, through a pitiful pit, to a palacious palace. Through the shores of shame, to the path of prosperity. If there was one person who was least to achieve in life and leave a lasting legacy – it was Joseph! What a man of God!

“God Buries His Workman and Carries On His Work”

How to Leave a Legacy Worth Remembering

1. Treat Parents With Dignity in Their Last Days. Vs. 1-9, 12,13

So many American homes struggle with this! We leave much of it to the convalesant hospitals! Where’s the dignity to this! Vern and Betty are a wonderful example…

I want to be sensitive about this… I realize that there are times when professional care is needed for our parents. In more families it seems that there is no time for dealing with the death of parents and grandparents – and so many die all alone!

It’s becoming more common to hear about elderly abuse and the mistreatment of so many elderly parents has to endure in their children’s homes.

Now society has euthanasia to deal with…because we have lost respect for the least in our society. This trend speaks of the selfish and the sick side of our country.

This is where evolution has impacted our thinking… “Survival of the fittest” is a wicked philosophy when it comes to our handicapped and elderly!

Verse 10: I think it’s healthy for a family to grieve together and mourn together as did Joseph and his brothers.

2. Treat Family With Sincere Forgiveness and Sensitivity. Vs. 15-19,21

Too many of us are like Charlie Brown when he explained to his manager Lucy at the end of a game why he lost sight of the baseball: “Sorry I missed that easy fly ball, manager. I thought I had it, but suddenly I remembered all the others I’ve missed, and the past got in my eyes.”

Bruce Wilkinson said, “Many people are stuck somewhere in there family.”

Philippians 3:13, 14

“Reaching forward” = the imagery of a runner on a course straining every muscle towards the goal, his hand is stretched out to grasp it.

The only way we can treat our family members with sincere forgiveness and sensitivity is to realize that life is about moving forward.

3. Treat Seasons of Evil Only as Seasons in Life. Vs.20

Isn’t it amazing, if we are honest, most of us are rarely affected by evil and yet instead of overcoming the seasons of evil, we allow evil to prolong its stay by our attitudes.

“Why is there evil in the world?” Why do bad things happen to good people?

On February 15, 1947 Glenn Chambers boarded a plane bound for Quito, Ecuador to begin his ministry in missionary broadcasting. But he never arrived. In a horrible moment, the plane carrying Glenn crashed into a mountain peak. Later it was learned that before leaving the Miami Airport, Glenn wanted to write his mother a letter. All he could to write on was a page of advertising he ripped out in the Airline Magazine on which was written the single word “WHY?” Around that word he hastily scribbled a final note.

After Glenn’s mother learned of her son’s death, his letter was found in the rubble, so the airline gave it to his mother. She opened the envelope, took out the paper, and unfolded it. Staring her in the face was the question “WHY?”

Why? A dedicated Christian, Linda Jesse from Orange County was riding her mountain bike in a bike park and she

was attacked by a mountain lion?

Why do bad things happen to good people?

Go to the religions of the East and they will say that you are in a cycle of reincarnation and you’re being punished in this life for some sin in a previous existence. But if you can find out which one of the thousands of gods you have angered, you may be able to lessen his wrath and shorten your punishment.

The Muslim will give a different answer, “Allah has willed it, and you must learn to accept his will without question. It’s all about being tested and getting into heaven with 70 virgins and all the wine you want to drink!”

So many in America respond to tragedy by shaking their fists toward heaven and saying, “God, if you allow such things to happen, then I reject you. I curse you -I don’t ever want to have anything to do with you again!”

Maybe some of you have read Rabbi Harold Kushner’s book entitled, “Why Do Bad Things Happen to Good People?” It became a best seller. And he gives a different answer. He says, “God is limited in His power, and therefore He is not a participant in our lives. Instead, He is a spectator watching us with interest…God wants to see good things happen to His people, but He is not always able to arrange it.”