What’s your legacy?
Some of you have heard some of this story before, for which apologies. However, spurred on by Nathan’s excellent blog last month about Gen Z, I’m encouraged to write it now.
Imagine it’s 1915. World War 1 is raging across Europe. Families are feeling the devastating loss and suffering of the war, and would be horrified if they knew that four more years of destruction was still to come. Also in 1915 my Grandmother, Agatha, received a book (about Christian martyrs) from her Godmother Helen. In it was the following letter (Helen and Agatha please excuse my intrusion on your privacy):
March 23 1915
My Dear Agatha,
Will you accept this book in memory of your Baptism Day – that good day when you were received into that family of which the “noble army of martyrs” form a part: those dear brothers and sisters of ours who bore such great pains and sufferings with even joy and thanksgiving and thereby helped to strengthen the Church by their example and courage. I wonder if from their present abode of peace they can look upon us in our trouble and bloodshed and are praying with us that it maybe soon be ended and God’s Glory established in the world.
Your loving Godmother,
Helen
Now imagine about 100 years later. My Dad gives me, a stumbling Christian, the book. He says, “Read this son, including the letter in the front cover”.
Helen’s wonderful Christian example (my family research shows a life well lived in pursuit of Jesus) reached down to my grandmother and in turn to my father and then to myself. Helen herself would have been influenced and discipled by others who in turn stretch back to ancient times and the very ‘Acts of the Apostles’. I find that mind blowing and extremely humbling.
Helen wrote at a time of almost unimaginable strife and suffering. Family members were being lost on the Western Front and those that returned often had terrible injuries, many of them physically or mentally scarred for life. Families were often ripped asunder by loss. We might be at a time of our own suffering or loss. Yet, like Helen, we can still be witness to Christ, perhaps more so even at difficult times. Even what we think might be trivial, just a few words of Jesus centred encouragement or support, spoken or written down, may well have huge impact on the recipient and may even influence others hundreds (in the case of the Apostles, thousands) of years down the road. That’s quite some legacy! So, I think we all have to have the ‘courage to encourage’, across whatever generations, in whatever small or great way that might be. You may be very surprised about how God uses that in His plan.
The book from Helen is full of stories of self-sacrifice for faith. I particularly like the following words in the introduction; … we must all try to live in His strength as perfectly as we can, for our Lord Jesus Christ, that we may be, in these latter days, if not martyrs, in the noblest sense of the Greek word, nevertheless, witnesses to the divine truth of our blessed faith.
Amen to that. I pray that I can live by that example in some small measure at least.
If it’s God’s will, I hope to meet Helen & Agatha in heaven. I have so much to thank Helen for, and my grandmother Agatha and my Dad and Mum – and of course so many others. But far above all, I thank Jesus for his grace and mercy – the ultimate living legacy available for all of us.
John H