There are two definitions of the word legacy. One is a monetary gift of money or property bequeathed in a will. The other is a long-lasting impact of a person’s life. In both definitions, legacy is something of value and worth that is passed on for the benefit of another person.
This coming Sunday, we have the privilege of hosting Pastors Dennis and Kaku Sager from Japan. They will be sharing with us what God has been doing through their ministry in Japan, and we get to enjoy their company—the honor of which we’ve enjoyed for decades now. These faithful Christ-followers have sown their entire lives into furthering the kingdom of God in Japan. They have trusted God in the big things and in the small things, and they have been a beautiful example to me for years and years.
Some of you may not know that Dennis was the youth pastor at our church back in the 1980s, and I was one of the youth he served! He was instrumental in teaching me that I was not too young to have a genuine relationship with Jesus, and he led our group through an impactful teaching on the Lord’s Prayer that set me up for a strong foundational understanding of how to pray. That teaching served me well for many, many years. He gave me a legacy.
Fast forward 20 years, and I had the wonderful opportunity to mentor Dennis’ daughter Adrienne and son Daniel when they were young people, teaching them both how to be effective, Spirit-led worship leaders. I did everything I could to give all that I had to them. Another legacy! And soon after that, Adrienne was serving as a youth leader with her husband Aaron, and my daughter was in their youth group. Third-generation legacy!
In the family of God, you have something of worth and value to pass on to the people around you. Your legacy has a lasting impact, so much so that you may never know the fullness of it on this side of heaven. Have you thought about what gift you have residing in you that can be of lasting impact to someone around you? Or do you have a monetary gift to sow into a ministry that may seem small, but could have a meaningful effect? You have something to bequeath in the Kingdom.
I Peter 4:10: “As each one has received a gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.”