Legacy

If you could change anything about yourself, what would it be? Let’s go deeper than possessions and physical appearance. Think about the kind of stuff that will matter at your funeral. How do you want to be remembered by those you’ll leave behind? When we frame the question this way, we start talking about things that matter deeply like character and disposition. Don’t we all want to be remembered as joyful, loving, and kind? Don’t we all want to leave behind a beautiful legacy?

As it happens, discipleship helps us do just that. When we follow Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit, we become truly good people. Unfortunately, we don’t always understand discipleship through this lens. Righteousness and holiness are words that we more readily associate with following Jesus. What we fail to see, though, is that righteousness and holiness are the building blocks of a good life. The one who is righteous acts rightly, and the one who is holy reflects the glory of our holy God! Rather than being stodgy Bible-thumpers who look down their noses at us, the truly righteous and holy people are the ones we most admire. They are joyful and kind, honest and dependable. They are the kind of people we will remember well.

Galatians 5:22 offers insight into just what it is that the Spirit is doing with us. He is making us people of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. To put that differently, He is making us truly good people from the inside out. If we want to change for the better, following Jesus is the best thing we can do!