Leading a
Successful Life or Leaving a Legacy?
“The
Lord, the God of heaven, who brought me out of my father’s household and my
native land and who spoke to me and promised me on oath, saying, ‘To your
offspring[a] I will give this land’—he will send his angel before you so that
you can get a wife for my son from there. Genesis 24:7 (NIV)
James Louis Petigru was an American
lawyer, politician, and jurist in South Carolina. His life was so exemplary
that after his death the community erected a tombstone inscribed with these
words: unawed by opinion, unseduced by
flattery, undismayed by disaster, he confronted life with courage, and death
with Christian hope. If we are successful, it becomes possible for us to
leave an inheritance for others. But if we desire to create a legacy, then we
need to leave something in others.
These verses capture the last spoken words
of Abraham. After decades of pursuing the promises of God and watching as He miraculously
provided, Abraham sets his sights on securing his legacy. Isaac is of marrying
age and Abraham wants to ensure that his future descendants will be from the
right bloodline and live in the right location so as to fulfill the
promises of God.
Abraham calls upon his most trusted
servant to go find his son a wife. This is no ordinary request. The servant
knows that, even in the best circumstances, this will be difficult to accomplish,
so he asks what will happen if he fails. Abraham is a little surprised by the
servant’s question and responds as the man of faith he has grown into - God has
kept all His promises so far, He will make a way for this to work as well.
Just as Abraham’s story began before he
ever set foot upon this earth, so his story will continue on after his days are
over. Isaac is now the man God will use to fulfill His promises and bring to
fruition the blessing to all peoples.
Abraham did his part. He trusted God, even
when it was difficult, even when he had just disobeyed him. Abraham always came
back saying, okay God let’s do this Your way.
Abraham built his legacy by remaining
faithful one day at a time. He didn’t exult himself or preach about his accomplishments.
Instead, he let people learn from his life what they saw to be true. We all are
building our legacy whether we know it or not. The way we treat other people,
the way we trust God with money or work or family, the attitude we portray – we
have an audience for everything we do, whether we realize it or not. Ultimately
our legacy comes down to a single question: did we trust God?
For Abraham the answer was yes – and that
started a series of events no one could have dreamed. What will our legacy be?
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