She was… He was…

The following article was published in the Arthur Graphic-Clarion in October 2013.

What kind of legacy will we leave when our lives on this earth are over and we enter into eternity? It’s a question that we all think about for sure, but how often do we think about it as we are making daily decisions? Too often one bad decision leads to another, and another, and you get the point. The flip side of that is that Godly decisions can also compound. Not only do they compound in our own lives, but they leave that positive legacy that we desire. At your funeral or memorial service how do you want people to think about you? When they complete the sentence “She was…” or “He was…” what will those periods stand for?

Two recent stories in the news give us examples of the good and the bad. Let’s start with the bad and end with the good. Perhaps you have heard about the children of a woman in Reno, Nevada who wrote a very sad and disheartening obituary for their mother last month. It was published in the paper, online, and has since gone viral on the internet. The obituary speaks only of the bad this lady left for her legacy. It speaks of abuse, hatred, abandonment, and much more. It’s hard to read! It’s hard to imagine that this woman is now gone, and this is the legacy that is left. I didn’t know her. I don’t know her children, but it saddens me to think that this is what they thought of when writing her obituary.

The good story comes from the sport’s world. I have never been a fan of the New York Yankees. However, their pitcher, closer Mariano Rivera, I have long been a fan of. Rivera is retiring from baseball this year after a stellar 23-year career. He has been lights-out on the baseball field, holding almost every record available for his position, but his legacy as a person is going to outlast his career by far. Many different times in his career he has commented about how he sees his Christian life as his real calling. In a recent Sports Illustrated article written by Tom Verducci, 17 former coaches, players, and friends shared seven pages about the legacy that he has created. One co-worker commented, “Most of us have deployed all of our attention to ourselves and to our own needs, with little left over for the needs of others. Mo has a presence that creates an atmosphere of teamwork, of an impossibly high regard for the integrity and worth of the people around him.”

In Psalm 103 David encourages us to think about our legacy from generation to generation. It’s a daily thing, not something that only gets thought of at the end of our lives here on earth. Each day affords us the opportunity to leave a Godly legacy. I would like to encourage you this week to think about the legacy you will leave. Remember, God’s grace and forgiveness is available to everyone. If you are still breathing it’s not too late to seek that grace and begin living and leaving the legacy that you desire. Start today and seek God’s help! We can’t do this on our own!

Pastor Glen Rhodes
Arthur Mennonite Church