Monday, November 03, 2014

Leaving a Legacy

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.  (Hebrews 11:5)

To leave a legacy is an incredible thing.  It takes one simple, corruptible, finite life and uses it to affect generation upon generation afterward.  Just about everyone will leave some kind of legacy, whether good or bad, even if it's just to their children or a small group closest to them.  It's the legacy of those who have impacted humanity for centuries that is truly great.

Enoch was of the seventh line from Adam.  Not much is said about him, actually.  His entire life if summed up in about four verses (Genesis 5:21-24).  Yet much of his legacy is found in verse 24: "Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him."  He's one of the only two individuals in scripture to not die (the other being Elijah; see 2 Kings 2:9-12).

But it wasn't the fact that "God took him" that gave him a legacy.  It was what he did: "Enoch walked with God."  What does it mean to walk with God?  To walk with God is to keep His commands.  It's to love Him with all of your heart, soul, mind, and strength.  It's to stay in constant communication with Him.

But that's not very big, is it?  I mean, Noah built an ark, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt, Elijah stopped the rain.  What made Enoch's stroll with the Lord so special?  You see, leaving a legacy doesn't mean doing something incredibly huge to be a spectacle to all.  Sometimes the greatest legacy requires simply faithfully walking with our Heavenly Father day after day.  But I'll tell you what: that can be one of the hardest things you could ever do.

Andrew was a disciple of Jesus whose primary focus was to bring other people to meet the Messiah.  He brought his brother Simon, who became Peter.  He brought the boy with five loaves and two fish.  He wasn't in the limelight, but he did what God wanted him to do.  Both Andrew and Enoch built a legacy, but it wasn't through being in the forefront.  It was through humble service.

What will be your legacy?  Will you do something big for God?  Will you build a life worth remembering, or will you waste it on what doesn't matter?  The greatness of your legacy depends on the faithfulness of your walk with God.