Legacy or Influence?
It is one thing to be influenced by something. It is another to have a legacy lived out before you and have that legacy shape your life. I sit here today as someone who has been shaped by a legacy.
There have been major influences throughout the course of my life. Sports hero’s, bands and their music (yes, I was super into punk rock and even played in a punk band for a short time), friends, mentors, leaders, pastors…there have been A LOT of influences in my life. (Going back to the punk rock thing…I was influenced to bleach my hair my junior year of high school. Didn’t work out to well for me. Not only did my hair turn orange, but no one let me know you were not supposed to get it on your skin. Can you say chemical burn?)
To influence someone is great. To leave a legacy is a whole different level.
My dad built and continues to build a legacy for me to follow after. What was it? Was it how to build a successful business? Was it how to be a good employer or employee? Was it how to be a loyal fan to your favorite sports team? Was it how to treat others in a way that honors them and God?
The legacy that my dad built (and by the way, is still building for me as I continue to watch and be influenced by the life that he is living) is so much more than those things. The legacy that my dad has built and is continuing to build is living a life that is completely surrendered to Jesus: His plans, His purposes, His desires.
How did he build that legacy for me? He didn’t just take me to church on the weekends, he lived and is continuing to live out his faith in front of me. He made the decision to daily seek Jesus. How do I know this? Because there was not one morning that I can remember where I would walk by the living room and not see my dad praying and reading his bible. Seeing something like that day in and day out does more than just influence…it leaves a legacy.
He didn’t just tell me what to do and not model it. Integrity wasn’t optional based on convenience. He didn’t make church and Jesus A PRIORITY. He made church and Jesus THE PRIORITY in our family. I see the pursuit of Jesus in how he leads the business that he owns, how he treats his wife, how he treats his kids and his grand kids. He is building and handing down a legacy, not just an influence.
So why do I write all that? Whats the point? It is more than me trying to be sentimental (although I am more grateful than my words could ever express for what my dad has modeled for me in life). I write this because I want to be someone who does more than just influences. I want to leave a legacy for others to follow after. I want my three children to see first hand the difference that Jesus makes. I don’t want them to have a flawed perspective that Jesus is A PRIORITY among MANY PRIORITIES. I want to build a legacy in life that they will be able to surpass me. As a pastor, I want the students in our youth ministry to receive a legacy of what it is to live a life that desires to know Jesus and make Him known.
Leaving a legacy really isn’t about you. It is about handing something down that is significant and vital. What legacy are you building? What is it that is going to outlast you?
Influences come and go. Legacy lasts.