Thinking About One's Legacy

For what will we be remembered when we’re gone? What will be our legacy? From time to time I enjoy reading through the obituaries in the Kansas City Star. The things that family members choose to include about their departed loved one can be quite interesting. Reading these death notices reveals that many folks were consumed in their work, as the writing focuses on their accomplishments in the business world. For others, pastimes and hobbies seemed to dominate their time and interests. On the same day this past week, two different obituaries highlighted the deceased’s passion for golf. One spoke of the places where the individual had traveled to play golf, while the other gave the date and location of a hole-in-one that the man had achieved. Frequently there is mention of a special relationship with a family pet. While those things may all be interesting and worthwhile in their time and place, wouldn’t we all prefer to be remembered more for how we lived our lives in relationship to God and others? As we enter eternity and face our Maker, I don’t think God is going to ask us what our golf handicap was, or how successful we were in our business endeavors. I think He will be more concerned about how we measure up on the scale of having lived in accordance with Jesus’ identification of the two greatest commandments—to love God with our entire being, and to love our neighbors as ourselves.