Legacy
9/17/2019
The Lord says:
I do not see people, I see a legacy.
This post isn’t meant to be long as I have done on previous occasions. But as I am in a state of reflection and introspection, coupled with the advent of my brand and blog, Signed, Dani J.’s, 1st anniversary I cannot help but to think of the word “legacy.” In fact the word “legacy” has been pressed rather heavily on my heart.
leg·a·cy | \ ˈle-gə-sē \ (n):
something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor or from the past
Considering legacy demands long term, bigger picture thinking. Considering legacy requires us to play the long game.
Legacy forces us to ask following questions: What drives you? Who are you doing it for? And in five years, will what you’re doing in this very moment matter in the grand scheme of things?
I like to think big picture when I’m bogged down on the details of the day to day. What will this detail contribute to the grand scheme of my legacy? More deeply, when you think and see through the lens of eternity, is all that you’re getting caught up in going to matter?
For some this may be a motivator, and for others this is a sobering thought. Believe it or not, we will all die one day. And what you leave behind will be the only thing that speaks for you. So, while you lie defenseless in your grave, will your works defend you? Who will speak for you? This, naturally forces me to the Word of God — both written and spoken.
Let’s first look at the spoken. Translating what God said to me above is what happens when he makes a covenant with a person. God is thinks generationally. When God chose Abraham, yes, He saw the individual but he saw the legacy that Abraham would leave behind. The legacy of faith. “And Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.” (Romans 4:3; see also Genesis 15:6). Abraham’s faith was accounted to him for righteousness because he dared to believe something that was seemingly impossible to the naked eye and within the realm of biology. Abraham inherited more than just blood kids; through his great faith we who have faith in Jesus see him as our father as well. Legacy.
When Adam sinned in the garden, unfortunately there was a legacy of sin deposited in the human race by blood… And their misdeed was generational. Sin entered the world through them. Legacy.
** Side note: I use “Adam” as referring to the human couple in the garden, the woman wasn’t named Eve until after they sinned. So before they ate of the fruit Adam was a collective before they were seen separately.
God’s plan to bring about Jesus in the world was fully set in motion. Jesus was known and even referred to as “the second Adam.” Through man sin entered and it was through man (human) that sin needed to be redeemed. Through Jesus’ sacrifice we have access to an everlasting legacy to those who believe. Legacy.
Mary, an adolescent virgin, engaged to be married feared the Lord and through her the Savior was born. She was willing and rather than being fearful of the plan God had she replied “Be it unto me.” Her availability to God’s will was so profound that the Catholic brethren revere her as a deity. We don’t mention the birth of Jesus without mentioning the willing woman who gave consent to God’s will over her life. Legacy.
In the same, there is a negative legacy. It’s more commonly identified as a generational curse. And you can think of yours right now. It could be that rape and sexual abuse run in the family and is silenced. It could be that failed marriages and abusive relationships have been your family’s legacy. Diabetes, suicide, cancer, anxiety and depression, avoidance, promiscuity, lack of boundaries may have been your family’s legacy.
But this was not God’s intended plan nor do you have to live a life of that legacy anymore. With Jesus, all things are made new. Now this is not to deny what the legacy of your family HAS BEEN. For the purpose of healing, identifying where our toxic traits stem from in order to deal with them are pertinent to your overall steps forward.
Unpacking what the Lord said to me in that moment. I know the Lord deals with people as He has done throughout the Bible, in my lifetime, and in the lifetime of the people that I know. However the Lord thinks deeper in the dealings of a person. The Lord thinks and deals generationally, as He is more interested in sustainability and longevity more than you could ever be. When He makes a covenant with you or when He deals with you, He has the generation behind you in mind. And the generation behind them. When God cuts a covenant with you or establishes an altar in your life, it is with the intent that this agreement/contract/altar/cycle will pass on to your next generation and their next generation. Legacy.
In this space of being where all we have is time, our creativity, our toxicity, and our potential to heal, it is high time to think about how you want to be remembered.
What legacy do you want to leave behind?
Signed,
Dani J.
