Mount Isa Baptist Church

Leaving behind a legacy

Life seems to rush on; can you believe that in 3 days we enter a new year? We sometimes find ourselves rushing from one meeting to the next, preparing for family functions, dealing with crises at work, organizing material for the next function, rushing off to visit friends, and then getting ourselves ready for the next day. It’s as if life just never stops. But what if life did stop? I think we experienced this to an extent during covid depending on where you lived. What would life be like without deadlines and problems? We might have thought during covid, at first it was great, but as time went on, it may not have been so good after all. People even started suffering from depression. What would we be doing if we had nothing to rush around for? As lovely as this sounds, I want us to really think about this question: “What if life stopped?” What would we be living for? Let me ask a different question: “What are we doing now that will have a lasting impact, even if life did stop?” Perhaps our lives are so filled up with things that are temporary that we forget about matters that are of eternal value.

As we go into 2026, perhaps we need to slow down a little and focus our attention on something that will be of lasting value. But let us remember that as Christians, we are here to make a difference, not to be part of a mindless crowd. Let’s make 2026 the year we begin a legacy, let each of us do one thing this year that will continue … even when life stops. Let’s ask the question again: “How would our lives be different if we recognized just how brief life really is?” In Psalms 39:4-5, we read that human existence is but a breath. James says that it is like a mist. Peter wrote that “People are like grass; their beauty is like a flower in the field. He goes on to say … “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of God lasts forever.” Because our lives are so brief, I want to explore what it means to leave a godly legacy.

1. If you want to leave a legacy…we will say the words that God wants us to say

We’ll want to say to those that we love, to the next generation, the things that are most important to us. My prayer for 2026 is that we don’t ever come to the place where we miss the opportunity to speak the words that God desires for us to say. Here’s a question for you… ‘If you only had days to live and you’re going to speak to those people who are most important to you, how would you finish this sentence?’ “Above all else…here’s what I want you to know…” To the people that you love, to your friends, to your family members, your spouse, children; ‘above all else, here’s what I want you to know…’ To leave a godly legacy, we’re going to have to speak our hearts…

2. If you want to leave a legacy … we’re going to do what God leads us to do

Acts 20:24: “But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus – the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God.” Paul is saying … unless I preach about Jesus, life is meaningless … God has called me to preach Jesus. That’s all that matters. Nothing else. Here’s a question for you: What is your unfinished task? What is your unfinished assignment? Remember, “It’s not how you start but how you finish that matters.”

3. If you want to leave a legacy … we’re going to live how God designed us to live

John 15:12-13: Jesus said, “This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you. There is no greater love than to lay down one’s life for one’s friend.” In this verse, Jesus reveals the key to how legacies are left behind … Let me ask you, who left a mark on your life? Chances are that in some way or another, they gave themselves in some way for your well-being. I’m convinced that if you and I are going to leave something of lasting significance for those who will be around when we die, we will do so when we lay down our lives for them. Don’t mistake a reputation for a legacy… Many times, we imagine that we’ll leave a legacy through accumulating more stuff, or we imagine that we’ll leave something of significance behind through achievements, we just need to accomplish more things … 1 John 2:17: “And this world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God will last forever.” All of the things that we are surrounded with…that so many of us have spent so much time chasing, craving, collecting in some vain pursuit to justify our own significance, all of it is fading away. Possessions don’t equal legacies, awards don’t equal legacies, having a street sign or building named after you isn’t a legacy… A legacy is when you leave something of significance behind in someone’s life…their life is different, better, changed because of you. 2 Corinthians 5:15: “He (Jesus) died for everyone so that those who receive his new life will no longer live for themselves. Instead, they will live for Christ who died and was raised for them.” Jesus laid down his life so that you and I would stop living for ourselves and start living for Him and for others. Ask yourself, “Am I laying down my life for anyone? To lay down our lives is to give up our preferences…to lay aside our desires…as Paul says, ‘to consider others as greater than ourselves.’ To decide to lay down our lives means that we no longer consider our passions, our abilities, time, our resources as things to use for our own self-advancement. We recognize those things as gifts from God to use for the good of others. There is no greater love…no greater love…no greater love…than this. One friend laying down his life for another. Can you imagine one day if there are people who say, ‘my life, my family is different because of who you were, because of how you lived, because of what you stood for, how you gave, how you loved.’ My prayer for this year …is that none of us would wait until we get sick or have a near death experience to take a step back from our lives and reassess those things that we’re giving our time, our hearts, our affections, our resources, our passions too. Life is brief. It’s a mist. It appears for a little while and then vanishes. We’ve got one shot at this life. It’s time to embrace it as a gift from God…