Ephesians 2:10- “For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we should walk in them.”
Leaving a Legacy of Sacrificial Giving
I facilitated a funeral and found life when I was expecting death. Funerals are usually “downers”, but I was conducting a funeral for Armand, and it was a cause for celebration. He was a legend of sorts in our community. Believing his community needed a church, he and his wife, already advanced in years, came with the three acres their home church had donated for this very purpose. During the construction process he was out there with younger men pounding nails, putting up walls and encouraging everyone. He taught Sunday school; he gave to the church and missions and he prayed.
This funeral wasn’t a private affair but a community event! People from miles around came to the funeral and when we opened things up for sharing, we heard the stories; How he had loved his wife like Christ loved the church. How he had helped a young man take a stand for his faith. How he acted at church the same at work and in his home. Armand didn’t just come along for the ride with the home church’s three acres; he mortgaged his house for the first church building and then mortgaged it a second time for the building where his funeral was being held! Most people give out of excess, but Armand mortgaged his future to be a blessing. The way he lived left an indelible impact on our community for God.
What Will Your Legacy Be?
Winston Churchill said it well, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” We see it throughout the pages of Scripture. Abram, who became Abraham mortgaged his future by leaving the land of his father and offering his beloved son as a sacrifice. The widow gave her mite, all that she had to live on, and Armand mortgaged his house, twice.
That’s why God saved you, so you could serve others. That’s why God has blessed you, so that you would be a blessing. One day, when they do your funeral, who will be the people to come and what will they say?