Do you ever think about what people in your life will remember you by when you are gone? Or more importantly, do you wonder if their lives are better for having known you? I have considered this at various times throughout my life, but seem to more in this time where it feels it feels like sickness and death are lurking in every corner and on every surface.

Oh, I know there are varying opinions on how the world is responding to this deadly virus, but today I want to focus not on who is right or wrong in this debate, but instead on the positives can come out of this current situation regardless of who which camp you are in.  

I want to talk about some of the core values I feel we may have lost sight of in this time of uncertainty and challenge you to look at our response in the longer view. To really think about this in terms of what kind of legacy we are leaving behind us based on our response. I hope you’ll join me for this most important conversation. 

We are all restless and are anxious to resume their lives again. Sadly, no one really knows what will happen as we move forward and begin the transition to resuming life outside our homes again. So many have been affected by sickness, death, and financial ruin. Emotions are high and there are no promises that anything we do will make this thing go away. 

We feel so helpless, don’t we? But we really aren’t. There are things we can do that will have a positive impact on our lives and those we love. We will talk about those things over future episodes, but today I want to focus on the legacy each and every one of us is leaving for the people who will follow long after we are gone.

If you stop and think about it, our parents and grandparents left us all with a legacy. Some are pretty amazing and other less stellar examples don’t get talked about much. The reality is that we, too, are leaving a legacy for our children and grandchildren. 

They are watching our every move, listening to every word, or hopefully most of them; even if they won’t admit it or don’t act like it. But more importantly, they are incorporating who we are being into their own identity and who they will ultimately become. Without purposefully trying or deciding to do so. 

For example, I was blessed with two Godly grandmothers. One was an educator and I am going to give her credit for this insatiable need I have to learn new things. I’m constantly trying to learn more and figure out how to apply my knowledge to making life better.

My other grandmother was a voracious reader. I’m pretty sure that I got the desire to read above pretty much everything else from her.  Especially when it comes time to do housekeeping.  It’s handy because the love of books falls nicely in line with my love of learning and my desire to help others learn the best way to do life. 

Every one of us can look at a parent or grandparent and see where we got a good or a bad habit or trait, can’t we? Some of them are truly blessings and some aren’t.  For example, the grandma that was a teacher was also a worrier. She could fret and worry like the best of them and no amount of my trying to convince her of the uselessness of that effort was going to make her stop.

I’m pretty sure she’s not the only one to have left that legacy with her loved ones. I see that quality in a lot of people around me today. There is so much fear and anxiety in so many people around us. If they aren’t afraid of the virus itself, they fear the effect it is having on our society, our economy, and even our churches.  As I mentioned earlier, we rarely talk about anything else anymore. It is all-consuming. 

But what if we could use this time to really focus on God and his promises instead of worrying? What if we could not just talk about, but show our children and grandchildren what it looks like to trust God with the details? To do the best we can to be safe and have faith that all will work out ok. Let’s take it a step further and stop talking badly about the people who don’t agree with us or do things the way we do.

What if we practiced kindness and showed a little grace instead of impatience and anger? 

Now that is a legacy I can get behind leaving for my children and grandchildren. How about you? 

You see, when this all goes away, we will still have things to disagree with others about. We will always have things that aren’t going to go the way we want. And truthfully, there will always be risks that will jeopardize our lives. So for the next few minutes, I want to focus on something each and every one of us absolutely should be doing, not just during this time of uncertainty, but always.

The stories of people who get COVID are scary and the stories of those who have died alone are tragic. But let’s face it, people die every day for all kinds of reasons. 

To me, the bigger tragedy is the number of people who are dying without having had the opportunity to be certain of their promise of eternity. I believe that while we are waiting for life to resume, we should all be challenged to use this time to have the most important conversations we will ever have with those we love. 

Years ago, I listened to a clip by Dr. James Dobson. He talked about how a friend of his had a heart attack and literally died in his arms. He immediately went home and had the conversation with his son about how important it is that his son live his life so that regardless of which one of them goes first, the other one would Be There for the big reunion in heaven. 

Shortly after hearing that I shared the story with my own son while we traveling to a hockey game one day. We had a truly heartfelt conversation and I was feeling really good about having had the courage when given the opportunity to talk about it. I remember to this day the pact we made to Be There. We even discussed how cool it would be to have that placed on our headstones so others would be encouraged. 

When we arrived at our destination, I found I had missed a dozen or more calls. I will never forget standing in the frigid air outside that rink that day as I learned that someone I loved dearly experienced the death of her 14-year-old daughter that afternoon. I was so relieved that she had raised that girl to know her Lord and didn’t have to question whether she would be there or not. I feel safe to say that knowledge has brought her more peace than anything else in her life. 

But it might have been a different story. Have you had that conversation with the people you love? You see, I hadn’t been so lucky a few short months earlier when I had stood at a different relative’s prayer service crying tears of joy to have heard the minister share conversations they had together that indicated that she not only knew Jesus, she was arguing with the minister about his position on some of his sermons. 

You see, I hadn’t had that conversation with her and had feared that I had missed the opportunity. I swore I would never allow myself to be in that place of u not knowing with someone I love again. It is a promise I take very seriously even though it honestly can be a struggle to have the courage to keep some days. 

You see, I get that everyone’s faith is different. I also understand that it is a conversation that can be difficult to bring up and it can be awkward. But if you don’t have the conversation, are you willing to risk that they may not Be There when we all gather for that final reunion? 

A few weeks ago, I attended a funeral from a man who didn’t have the virus, but because of the current circumstances, we could only celebrate his life from afar. I was so touched by his obituary that I want to share a part of it here. 

His faith carried over into every aspect of his life including his business. He based his work ethic and business philosophy on Mark  8:36: “For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and lose his soul.” He looked to his Lord to guide every aspect of his life. He lived a way that always pointed others to his Savior through his actions and selfless heart that deflected the glory to Jesus. His identity was truly in Christ.

Folks, we all have a calling on our lives. God created each and every one of us for a purpose and he will lead us to that purpose through the events that come our way and the life we create. 

Your calling isn’t your job or career. It isn’t what you do at all.  It’s who you are. Fortunately, my friend answered that call to live out his faith in his life. And he did so beautifully as a carpenter, as a member of our community, as a church leader, but more importantly as a husband and father.  

And the amazing thing about it was that despite the fact that we couldn’t go into the church and celebrate his life with his family, we were able to show our support from a distance. The true beauty of it all is that they know without a shadow of a doubt that they will be reunited with him one day.  Each and every one of them will be there at that final glorious reunion. 

Out Pastor remained us of this in his on-line service a few weeks ago. He also reminded us that despite everything that is going on in the world around us, we cannot forget that our Lord is alive and well. He is walking this path with us and, in fact, he’s carrying many of us because we do not have the strength to walk this path alone. 

Do not be mistaken.  God is NOT dead and we, as a community of believers need to stop acting like he is! We need to sit up, brush ourselves off, and start living like people who know who we are and know where we are going. 

And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love him.  (Romans 8:28 NLT) 

But we need to remember that we aren’t promised tomorrow. We aren’t promised that there won’t be any pain or suffering in life. In fact, we are pretty much assured there will be pain and suffering and we are called to be grateful for that pain and suffering because it will bring us closer to Jesus. When we place our security in heaven and not in things of this world, we know everything will be ok and we have nothing to be concerned about. 

The promise we do have is that if we accept Jesus into our hearts, all of our sins are forgiven and we will be reunited with him and other believers on the last day. 

We don’t have to be good enough or smart enough, thin enough, or pretty enough.  We only have to call Jesus our friend and know that he died for us. 

So stop living your life like you have no hope and you are tired of sitting around and waiting.  Instead, use this time. Get into scripture on a regular basis and go back to church even if it is online for now. Find out what God is calling you to do and go do it. 

Whether you are serving on the front lines at your local nursing home, at your clinic or hospital, stocking groceries, driving a truck, or praying from the sidelines, do so in a manner that reflects that you are someone who knows where they are going.  Be that person that draws others to want to have that thing that you have.  Exemplify the peace that passes all understanding and the joy that surpasses anything that the world has to offer.  

But whatever you do, please do not leave a legacy of fear. Don’t live like you don’t know what is next or who is really in control of all things. Instead, live your life in a manner that makes people want what you have. Inspire them to give up all the meaningless idols we’ve held so dearly for so long so they can have true peace and fulfillment. 

We all make an impact on the lives of the people we touch. Depending on how we live our lives that impact can be for the good or it can be for the bad.  Be intentional about the legacy you leave behind. 

So the next time you have the opportunity to talk about all the scary things that are happening in the world, remember who you are and whose you are and confidently share the love and the grace that you have received and are called to share. If you aren’t sure how to do that, let’s visit. I think you’ll find it is easier than you might think and it certainly is worth the effort. 

Thank you for stopping by today. I know your time is valuable and I appreciate your spending this time with me today. If you were touched by this conversation, I hope you will share it with someone who might need to hear it.  Simply forward in a text or through messenger. Also, if you haven’t already, I ask that you consider leaving a comment on iTunes and subscribe to the show so you won’t miss an episode.  

We’ll be continuing the conversation about how we can make the best of this time while our world is upside down in the weeks ahead.  I hope you will join us.

In the meantime, stay safe, be well, and live your more!