Father's Day 2022

What We Leave Behind

Father’s Day 2022

Scriptures: Titus 2:2; Philippians 2:5-13; First Corinthians 11:1

The word Legacy is defined as “something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past.” The word was first used in the 15th century and was associated with a heritage or inheritance. When we think of legacy we think of it as something passed on from one generation to another which could be anything from material things to a reputation; habits to specific ways of doing things, to historical knowledge about the family. We sometimes ask people what they would like their legacy to be – how they would like to be remembered – based on the things that they were doing in this life. One of the key components of a legacy is that it is often referred to after a person dies. I have shared with you many times that for those who die in Christ they transition from one state of being to another. Their new state is one without pain, worries, doubts and confusions, which are left behind when they leave their earthly vessels behind. In their new state there is joy and peace. Based on this understanding, we have funerals that celebrate the life of a person and often talk about their legacy. We ask their children if they will follow in their father’s or mother’s footsteps depending on the situation. We speak of all the things they accomplished, especially those things that had an impact on the lives of others. We speak as if what they had done is now over because they are no longer physically here. But is that correct?

The title of my message this morning is “What We Leave Behind.” But I first want to say to the fathers who are present and/or watching this live-streamed video and who might be reading this message later, “Happy Father’s Day!” Being a good father is one of the most important assignments that a man has here on earth because he is responsible for a life other than his own. Of all the things I have accomplished with my time here on earth, I hope to stand before God and hear Him say “Your children thought you were a good father and so do I.” That being said, I want my daughters to know how much I have been blessed to be their father as that outweighs everything else I’ve done. And to all of my “adoptive” kids, I am blessed to be a father figure in your life as I too had other “fathers” who sowed seed into my life. I will acknowledge one of my father figures this morning in this message and I hope he knows that what he has done for me was not done in vain!

I am dedicating this Father’s Day message to my Uncle Robert – my father’s brother and one of my father figures. He is a man in his eighties who truly loves the Lord. This man is someone who I have looked up to for many years because of how he has lived his life. While he is not perfect, he truly allows the love of God to flow through him which dictates his responses to situations where others would just respond out of their flesh. My uncle Robert has lived long enough to witness the goodness of the Lord and give the testimony “I have been young and now I am old, yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken or his descendants begging bread.” (Psalm 37:25) I am dedicating this message to my uncle because he has helped me become a better man and a better father and he did so without even knowing it – well until this morning that is. As I said, my uncle is physically older now, in his mid-eighties, but he doesn’t know it. Yes his body is frailer than it used to be as he has aged – he talked about his brother Arth Ritis on our call Saturday as he spoke about how he was doing – but his spirit is as young as ever. At his current age he understands and can again testify to “…..but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day.” (Second Corinthians 4:16) This is who my uncle is as a child of God! Although I am dedicating this message to my uncle, I must also share a little about my father too. I mean how can you not talk about your father on Father’s Day?

I said earlier that when someone dies and we talk about their legacy, we often speak as if what they had done is now over. I asked if that statement was correct. I do not believe that it is. When we leave this world what we have deposited into people’s lives by how we lived our lives remains and, New Light, that’s the true legacy – for each one of us. There is a lot of focus today about creating generational wealth and I get that, but what I am talking about this morning is more important than generational wealth. You see, if you are like me and you are doing some things “as your father did them” then you are walking in your father’s footsteps as I am walking in my father’s and my father figures’ footsteps. Two of these men, my birth father and his brother, Uncle Robert, never stood in the pulpit or preached the word of God as a “minister.” They never worked in the industry I retired from or held the same positions that I have had. So you might be wondering how could I possibly be walking in the footsteps of these two men and I will explain it. Let me begin with my Daddy.