Have you ever thought about it? About that which will outlast your life? Is anyone talking about it or are we all focused on Y.O.L.O.?
If you read my last blog, you’d see that your purpose is God’s purpose that He is working through you. So while we pursue purpose during our lifetime, let’s talk about legacy - what we leave behind when we are gone.
We are often caught in the cycle of our present challenges, desires, and ambitions and become so focused on what may only have a temporary impact. If all our focus is on what we do and achieve now, which dies with us, we may unintentionally neglect the history tied to our legacy. It doesn’t mean that pursuing your purpose won’t create a legacy, but I am inviting you to consider the legacy you wish to leave in pursuit of that purpose.
Focus on Forever
When you focus on forever, and your decisions are about what will be best for yourself, your family, your company, or your community in the long term, you are erecting the monument of your legacy. Legacy is a perpetual impact that outlives a person and lasts for generations.
Two things should be clear before I go on: 1) legacy is not fame, and 2) you'll never know the extent of the impact (for obvious reasons). Whether intentional about it or not, we will all leave a legacy, which will be a direct consequence of the decisions we make while we live.
The impact of your legacy is not judged by notoriety. It is more than what people will say in the short term. It is about the platforms you created, the bridges you built, the doors you opened, and the positive influence that will reverberate through eons.
Don’t rely on people remembering you as a measure of your legacy. I am an 80’s (millennial) baby and when Tupac and Biggie were killed in the early 90’s it was a very big deal, but I’m sure these Gen Alpha kids now, do not even know who they are. Biblically, it goes something like, “For the memory of them is forgotten”. (Ecclesiastes 9:5)
If your focus isn’t on what will last forever, then I may be the first to tell you that your life (or just aspects of it) may be out of focus.
“While we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)
This scripture should make us pause, breathe, and recalibrate our pursuits in the context of what will outlast our lives. It should cause us to consider whether all the thriving and pushing will be for an end that will be more than a temporary blessing, pleasure, or advancement. Everything that we see is temporary, not that it passes away but we do, and leave it all behind.
Therefore, we ought not to think of legacy without first being drawn to the question of our eternal security by faith in God through His son Jesus Christ. I do not wish to pursue and attain all my earthly goals and desires and then live in eternal damnation. Biblically stated: “For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?” (Mark 8:36-37)
Of paramount importance to each of us should be the state of our soul. It's the only legacy that matters personally after we leave this earth. I guarantee you that eternal security through Christ adjusts the lens through which we view the things we strive for. It helps us through the times when it seems like we are achieving nothing of the everything, we desire. What will last forever is what should matter most and that biblically sounds like, “But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you”. (Matthew 6:33)
Elevate from thinking only about what you desire to achieve here and now. Graduate from any selfish thoughts of today and strain your mind to consider how you can positively impact generations. You may be tempted to dismiss all of this wondering why you should even be bothered about what will happen in a future where you won’t be present. Here is why. All the ills of life we see today are in large part the legacy of our foreparents and so are the positive and uplifting things.
The start and end of slavery were all the repercussions of legacy. The progression of women’s rights was likewise the result of legacy. So too are climate change, the war being fought in Gaza, and the freedom most of us enjoy in democratic nations. If you think what you do today won’t impact someone else tomorrow then ponder for a moment on JC. Jesus stayed on that cross because His Legacy as Saviour of the world was more important than the pain and shame of the cross.
I am sure that we are all working hard to create a comfortable life for ourselves and to leave an inheritance for our offspring and their offspring, but an inheritance is not a legacy. One is measured by currency and the other is measured by impact.
I am only saying, to be as intentional about what will outlast your earthly life as you are about pursuing what will benefit you now.
Love Ya!
Krystal Baynes-Hoseinee
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