Building A Strong Legacy

Building A Strong Legacy
Psalm 71:17b-18

If you’re in the golden years of life, you have something to give that is vitally important and that is your name…your legacy.

We can’t do anything about the legacy given to us, but we can do something about the legacy we leave for those who follow us.

Legacy –  Something handed down to the next generation from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past that affects your life in a positive or negative manner. 

As senior adults, our lives are instructive whether we intend for them to be or not. The key is to be intentional in what we pass on.

Hardships and trials connect generations.

Every crisis brings transformation – whether it is on a personal level or a national level. 

Covid-19 is as world changing as a war and we must be as ready as previous generations to deal with the aftermath.

How can Senior Adults and all individuals build a strong legacy?

 I.    Acknowledge your own received legacy – Your Ancestry Matthew 1:17

·         You can’t control how you came into the world. You can only control how you handle it and pass it on.

·         Today, if we don't intentionally pass on a legacy consistent with our beliefs to our children, our culture will pass along its own, often leading to a negative end.

II.    Acknowledge your own life legacy – Your Personal History Psalms 139:1-4

·         Don’t try to deny what has helped shape you into the person you are today.

III.    Accept the responsibility of Interpreting your own legacy – Your Personal Story  Psalms 45:16-17

·         We learn values in life and then these values are transferred through families.

·         What one generation accepts in toleration the next generation goes to in excess. – Bill Gothard.

·         Sometimes sharing a failure in life is more valuable than sharing our strengths. 

·         When it comes to your legacy, be intentional. Be purposeful. To default on this is to leave future generations without clear life instructions.