What Will Your Legacy Be?

Recently, a friend who writes a daily inspiration, wrote about how he hopes people see him.  And it made me think.  What do I want my legacy to be?  What have I done to make the world we live in a better place?  Who have I helped along the way?  Who have I spoken up for when they didn’t have a voice?  Have I done my part?  Have I been light in the world? 

Those of you who know me, know that I work with middle and high schoolers, as well as, college students through my church.  I have been blessed with a strong desire to see young people succeed and the Lord has given me some ideas and tools to help them along the way.   He’s also blessed me with an awesome team at church who works to make sure we provide support and resources to the students.  But that isn’t what I want to be remembered for.  

If I were gone today, what would I want people to say about me?  That I was generous?  That I loved people?  That I told the truth, even when it was hard?  That I would help people when I could? That I worked hard?  Sure, I’d want people to say all those things.  But, ultimately, I want people to know I love Jesus and I’m working hard to be more and more like him every day.  Don’t get me wrong….I miss every day, but I keep striving.  

The thing is, people talk about what they believe but then don’t live consistent to their words.  That’s just hypocritical and much of what is wrong with the world today.  The only thing we really have are our words and deeds…our integrity.   When it all shakes out, it doesn’t matter how much money we earned, but what we did with it.  It doesn’t matter how many degrees we obtained, but what we did with the knowledge.  I’m striving every day to live according to God’s Word and not just speak it (James 1:25).  James said it best, “Faith without works is dead (James 2:26).”  

What do you want your legacy to be?  What are you doing toward that end?