‘ … I have set before you life and death, blessings and curses. Now choose life so that you and your children may live and that you may love the Lord your God, listen to his voice, and hold fast to him.’ Deuteronomy 30:19-20.
Moses was addressing the nation of Israel as they waited on the bank of the Jordan River, ready to cross over into the promised land of Canaan. He was reminding the people of God’s faithfulness to them and he was imploring them to continue to choose God.
Moses knew their choices had consequences.
I recently attended a funeral and the eulogy reflected how my friend had made choices in her life. Elise couldn’t control all the events and circumstances that happened to her but she could choose how she would respond to them. Elise left a legacy of loving God, music, teaching, language and service to others. She ‘filled the gap’ wisely. (See April’s article) Contemplating her life, I wondered what would be said about me when my time comes.
What is a legacy?
There are several dictionary definitions of ‘legacy’.The most common meaning is anything bequeathed as in a gift of money or personal property. It can also mean how someone is remembered or how something is handed down from ancestors. Another friend of mine can trace in her genealogy a legacy of a minister or missionary in many generations and now her daughter is a pastor.We are just beginning our journey as Baptist Women together. What legacy do we want to create? What message about us do we want to give our daughters, mothers, aunties, cousins, stepdaughters, daughters in-law, work colleagues, our friends and the men in our lives? We don’t have to wait until we die to leave something behind. We can create a legacy now that will be remembered in one year from now or in five years’ time. We have a corporate legacy to create. Some things we could be known for are;
- women who love God with all our hearts, soul and strength
- women who encourage one another and build one another up
- women who study and think theologically, not just on the latest fad
- women who are hospitable, generous and nurturing
- women who worship, pray and know their bibles
- women who forgive, show mercy and compassion
- women who exemplify the fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
We cannot always choose what happens to us but we can choose how we handle it, what we think about and our attitude. We can choose life with God and we can be intentional about the legacy we want to create.