New Year 2023 - Your Legacy: Will It Make It Through The Fire?

Your Legacy: Will It Make It Through The Fire?

Scripture: Matthew 6:19-21; First Corinthians 3:11-15

Happy New Year New Light! This morning I want to talk with you about your legacy – the one you will leave behind on earth but will greet you in heaven. This is the first Sunday of a new year and once again we have the unique opportunity to make adjustments in our lives so that we might grow stronger in our relationship with Christ and as His ambassadors. I have shared with you before that we are the hope for this world and it is our works that are done here on earth that bring hope to others. These “works” that we perform on a daily basis become our legacy – they will remain long after we have departed this world and will meet us in the next. As we start a new year I want you to think about your legacy.

Webster's dictionary defines legacy as "money or property left to someone by a will; anything handed down as from an ancestor." This definition speaks to primarily physical things that are handed down from one generation to the next. In other words, a legacy is what you leave behind for others. While it could be money and/or property as the definition speaks to, it could also be the acts that you did that helped someone else; those things which others will remember about you. Your legacy will include your reputation or lack thereof. The focus of my message today is the legacy we leave behind based on those things we did to help others and I want to take a different approach in presenting it. Today I want to tell you a story of three funerals. Please come with me as we attend the funerals of Larry, Bro. John and Sis. Paula.

Larry: Larry grew up in a home with a God-fearing mother and a father who did not have time for all of that “religious non-sense stuff.” Although Larry was forced to go to Church as a child, his attitude was more like his father’s and as soon as he was old enough, he stopped going to Church and began to live his life. In his mind, Larry lived his life to the fullest. There was nothing that he did not try or experiment with until the day he died. During his life he only worked part-time jobs to support his “night life.” Shortly before he died, Larry had an experience that changed him internally. He was lying in bed one night thinking of something he’d heard in church as a child. He'd heard that Jesus loved the sinner and for some reason he could not get that out of his mind. That night while lying on his bed, Larry repented. He did not live long enough to share his experience because he died of a heart attack two days later. He was 30 years old. His mother decided not to have a traditional funeral in a church but a grave side service only. Since Larry did not have any true friends only his family attended the services. The minister stood before the family and said a few words about living right and closed with a prayer. The mother was crying heavily over the loss of her son. There were no songs, no long lines of people to tell stories about things that Larry had done for others. It was just his family. This was Larry’s earthly legacy. Now let’s look at another funeral, the services of Bro. John.

Bro. John: Bro. John was an active church member who willingly and happily served in several capacities. He sung in the choir, was an usher, assisted the trustees, helped with the announcements, everything. If there was a ministry to be involved in, and he was needed, John willingly rolled up his sleeves and did whatever he could. He would sit on the front row and was always the loudest in saying “amen” during the sermons. When something was not right within the church, Bro. John would point it out and demand repentance from all those involved. Two weeks before he died, Bro. John grew ill from a viral infection. As he thought about his illness, he decided to write out what he wanted at his funeral (he felt it was best to be prepared just in case.) He listed everyone he wanted on the program and what should be in the obituary. On his last night, he fell asleep and did not wake up. Bro. John’s funeral was elaborate. All of the big named preachers around town attended. There were songs, poems and all sorts of comments made about how wonderful a church worker he was. People were crying and shouting as the services went on for 3 hours. When the services concluded, everyone thought his funeral was one of the best they had attended in years and was befitting of someone who worked so hard in the church. This was Bro. John’s earthly legacy. Our final service is that of Sis. Paula.