I was able to attend a funeral service last weekend for one of the saints from church. She was, and will continue to be, remembered well. What I took to be the most important moment in the entire service was when our pastor (shout-out Bro. Tom) said something to the effect of: “She didn’t leave a legacy; she left a testimony, a trail for others to follow, leading to Jesus.” That thought impressed itself upon me, and I’ve been thinking on it ever since, trying to realize all that it means, in a practical sense.
We are reminded often in life to consider what we want our legacies to be. Regardless of the dictionary definition of the word “legacy,” the connotation in the context of a funeral is of the memory that we leave behind. In that sense, my legacy will be about me and how I immortalized myself. But to leave a testimony, a story of the Almighty God saving my life, is about Him and His ability and desire to save others.
There may come a day when no one on Earth will remember my name or my face. That’s alright; I don’t need to be remembered by man. I need to be remembered by the Lord. When I speak His Words, then my words will stand for all time. When I can say, “to live is Christ,” then my life will lead the lost to the One who is able to save them. The sad truth is that the legacies of too many testify to vanity and misplaced worship. At best, they bear witnesses to devotion to noble pursuits. The only legacy that matters, though, is a testimony, the gospel told in the form of a life, by which lost souls may find their way home.