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Thoughts on Legacy

Legacy is that thing people leave behind.  It is what people talk about after a person retires or dies or leaves office.  Presidents, it seems are very concerned about legacy.  The truth is, however, a person can never fully choose their legacy, especially as president.  We can tell a person’s legacy by how the late night comics and news commentators talk about them.  I am sure President Bill Clinton had all sorts of dreams on what his legacy in the Oval Office would be, but all people remember, is that he had sex in that Oval Office.  That is his legacy.  Ronald Reagan did all sorts of stuff with taxes, but people remember that  he said "Tear down that wall" and they did.

For some people, their legacy is exactly what they wanted.  Jerry Lewis left a strong legacy of slapstick and goofy humor that has been copied by hundreds of comics over the generations.  Huge Hefner left a legacy of porn and degrading women.  As long as he got some, he did not care how women were treated and he did it all publicly and in print.

Looking at legacy, we can see there are two parts or two aspects to legacy.  First it is how we remember people.  It is what their life meant and what they left behind.  Second, it is what future generations build on.  With Jerry Lewis breaking into movies with slapstick, many people were inspired by what he did.  Hefner inspire the entire porno industry.  He blazed the trail and as technology allowed, many followed and built on what he had built.

For the Christian, we have a legacy that goes back to The Twelve.  Each of the Apostles had disciples and those had disciples and all those disciples grew in Christ and wrote and built theologies around the truth of God.  That is why I do not start fresh with no idea what the Bible is about, each week.  Each week, I read Spurgeon, Boice, Sproul, MacArthur, Luther and theologians too numerous to count.  As my theology professor at Western Seminary said, “Theologians today stand on the shoulders of every theologian that has come before.”  In other words, if someone was great in reading and translating and knowing Hebrew and wrote their conclusions, I do not have to do all the translation work every time I preach, I can just study their conclusions.

In this way a legacy of Christian thought and theology has been created.  Truth is checked against history:  If everyone else is saying the same things about Christ, then you have a consensus of truth.   This is why I have read, in my preparation of preaching John, 23 commentaries, close to 60 pages each week.  I study the legacy of truth that has been handed down and if I am true to Scripture like they were true to Scripture, then I can join the Christian 2000 year old legacy of proclaiming Christ.

When I am dead and gone, all I want my legacy to be is this:  He preached Christ.

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