A Lasting Legacy of Love

Exodus 20:5-6 Don't worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the LORD, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations.

One day, you will take your last breath and as far as this life goes – that’ll be it. When that happens, what sort of a legacy will you be leaving behind? I don’t mean your will, I’m not talking about money. How is it that this world will be a better place because, for a short time, you walked on it? How will people’s lives be changed for the better, because they knew you?

Some people have left astounding legacies – scientists, medical researchers, teachers, nurses, great leaders, politicians, activists – people through whom the course of history has been shaped, for better and indeed in many cases, for worse.

And then, there are just the ordinary people like you and me. But whether we realise it or not, we will leave a legacy behind too. So what will it be? Good, not so good or … terrible.

It seems to me that the greatest legacy you and I can leave behind, is the lasting legacy of love. The smallest act of kindness can change a life. The smallest act of service can totally transform someone’s world – and that’s something that can ripple right across the world, even down through the generations, in ways that we simply cannot comprehend today.

Come on, what sort of a legacy will you leave behind? Good, not so good, or terrible?

Here’s something that God has to say about the impact that He will have on your behalf in the generations to come, through the decisions that you make in your life from today, through until you breathe your last breath.

Don’t worship or serve idols of any kind, because I, the LORD, am your God. I hate my people worshiping other gods. People who sin against me become my enemies, and I will punish them. And I will punish their children, their grandchildren, and even their great-grandchildren. But I will be very kind to people who love me and obey my commands. I will be kind to their families for thousands of generations. (Exodus 20:5-6)

When we honour God, you and I, when we lay aside all our other little tin-pot gods and tyrants, and lay down our lives to worship Him and Him alone, His promise is that He will bless our families pretty much forever and a day. That’s God’s promise. A lasting legacy of love.

And that’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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