As you reflect on your life, what would you say has been your greatest achievement? Humans were created such that we are able to reflect and envision. Strong evidence for that is the surge of newsletters / cards that people send at year end. They are hard evidence that individuals want to leave a legacy. No-one wants to be lost to memory.
The Purpose Statement that I usually attach to my signature gets frequent comment. I refer to it as my ‘4Ls’: “Live vibrantly; Learn continuously; Love deeply and Leave a godly Legacy” The last ‘L’ regularly strikes a chord. Everyone has an innate desire to ‘leave a legacy’. I thoroughly enjoy my Divine calling that urges me to facilitate a fuller and deeper understanding of Scripture. Receiving your insights / questions in return, is inspirational and provides balance in my thinking.
Legacy – something that is handed down, even during lifetime; usually wrapped up with an achievement and includes savouring the memory. (The woman who washed Jesus feet (Matt 26:13) is a great illustration of leaving a legacy. He said: “Wherever the good news is preached in the whole world, what this woman has done will be told also, in memory of her.”)
During this Christmas season, I think God purposefully arranged that I associate socially with heaps of people who don’t talk about the concept of ‘calling’ or ‘legacy’. So many conversations were an endless treadmill about illness, possessions, sports, vacation, retirement, income and costs of living. It was expressions of mediocre existence instead of vibrant living. Vibrant living and leaving a memory or legacy are connected. The surface level conversations indicated a lack of understanding about pursuing their calling, but I wonder what their spirit desires?
The constant exuberance of fulfilled living because of Divine Love is impervious to the monotonous or traumatic experiences of life. (Rom 8) It’s nice to receive comments: “that was powerful”; “you hit the nail”; “your teaching is unique and original” etc. That tells me that folks see a glimmer of insight that indicates something is missing and there’s hope that it can be found. I know that it is the subject matter that is being congratulated, not me, or my dynamics! People’s spirits are searching to partner with Jehovah Shalom who provides peace in doing even small exploits like washing feet to establish His Kingdom.
I like the type of ministry that I do. In spite of the travel, jet-lag, languages and juggling the scheduling of meetings, I love ‘learning continuously’ and ‘living vibrantly’. I love working with people who want to leave a memory of what they contributed to the Kingdom. People in many lonely places are gaining an appetizer for something they are missing in their usual avenues of learning.
As you reflect on your life, what would you tell someone is becoming your greatest achievement. To bring these deeper ponderings to the surface, take a few moments and start writing down some thoughts into the following two categories (a couple examples from my life are included below):
THANK GOD FOR:
- A joyful and eventful year. Busy, but never overwhelmed. I was continually stimulated to teach the Big Picture of God’s Word and providing practical application of it. Never sure how much people really grasp, but frequent encouragement was inspirational.
- Many thoughtful and practical gifts that reminded Laura and I of God’s generosity in giving us His Son! What an act of love He demonstrated! We thank Jehovah Jirah ‘the Lord who provides’ (Gen 22:14) for each prayer partner and financial supporter.
ASK GOD FOR:
- Completion and production of our book ‘Off the Wall and On His Pedestal’ Pray for clarity of communication.
- Guide our spirit as we navigate this next year. (Pro 4:23) We are amazed at the network of contacts we have around the globe. We need vigilance in how we can build a godly legacy in these relationships, to see the Kingdom of God become reality.
May you be blessed with insight and active persistence in your focus on Jehovah Rohi’s appointed calling for you. Hebrews 12:1-2
With much love … john
(original post Jan 05/2015)
