What if we could build a legacy not by what we can get out of this world but what we can give. What if we could make a legacy by how we treat others, how we help those who can't do anything for us, or how we forgive others, even when they don't deserve it. Jesus didn't walk around all high and mighty, although he could very well have. Instead, he sat around having dinner with the homeless. Today, we may hand a dollar or two to a homeless person that we pass by, and we've done our good deed for the month. Jesus took that a step further. He poured everything he had into connecting with the marginalized to show them a world where love was the most valuable thing you could pursue. Not even money was more valuable, not even fame. And it worked. This simple strategy to build an incredible legacy seemed counterintuitive to how we would go about it today but look at the impact.
Ask yourself, 'what legacy do I want to leave in this world?' Do I want my life to constantly pursue what I can achieve, what I can get, and how I can be more successful? Or do I want to pursue a life devoted to giving instead of taking a life of radical love? This is a true legacy worthy of pursuing.
Would you say Jesus left a legacy? There’s hardly any place in the world you can go and find someone who hasn’t heard about Jesus. So, how did he do it? How did he leave such an incredible legacy that over 2000 years later, people are still aspiring to be like him? Surprisingly, it looks nothing like the way we’re trying to create a legacy today. Jesus was a king. He had the power to do anything he wanted. He could read minds. You would think he would have tons of riches, huge mansions, servants galore to wait on him hand and foot. If he arrived today, he indeed would have over 1M followers on IG and have mansions in Hollywood Hills. Or would he? He didn’t even have a home. Instead, he worked to build an intangible legacy of love, kindness, goodness, wisdom, justice. Today, we are consumed with trying to make our name great, obtain more influence, make more money, and achieve the type of success that has a monetary value.
What if we could build a legacy not by what we can get out of this world but what we can give. What if we could make a legacy by how we treat others, how we help those who can’t do anything for us, or how we forgive others, even when they don’t deserve it. Jesus didn’t walk around all high and mighty, although he could very well have. Instead, he sat around having dinner with the homeless. Today, we may hand a dollar or two to a homeless person that we pass by, and we’ve done our good deed for the month. Jesus took that a step further. He poured everything he had into connecting with the marginalized to show them a world where love was the most valuable thing you could pursue. Not even money was more valuable, not even fame. And it worked. This simple strategy to build an incredible legacy seemed counterintuitive to how we would go about it today but look at the impact.
Ask yourself, ‘what legacy do I want to leave in this world?’ Do I want my life to constantly pursue what I can achieve, what I can get, and how I can be more successful? Or do I want to pursue a life devoted to giving instead of taking a life of radical love? This is a true legacy worthy of pursuing.
