Our Legacy

                

I cannot forget a Book by Robin Sharma called "Who will cry when you die". The title inspired me to think, and often I ask myself the same question: who will cry when I die? Maybe not literally, but who will genuinely grieve? 

Apart from my family and a couple of friends, I really can't count any. We are so involved with self and careers and God knows what else, we forget to carve out a legacy of good which can live on after us. But why should we? 

Because "Life" is not a career; life is not about just us. There is nothing wrong about doing things for us but that is not the end. Life is the means to the end but life is living in harmony with the world around us. Taking care of the world and people around us. Using our talents wisely for the benefit of others. Thats how we can create a legacy. 

Creating a legacy is about making a lasting impact that transcends your lifetime. It involves living with intention and purpose, and making contributions that benefit others

Hebrews 13:16 says "And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased".

Everything we have comes from above. Do we even stop to give thanks? Do we share it with others? Do we become a channel of His blessing and grace to others? Do we even want anyone to remember us?  

Note the word "sacrifices" and "sharing" in the verse.  

Pastor Rajiv has already talked about sacrificial giving or sharing in earlier posts and clearly defined what it means to give and more so, what is sacrificial giving. 

Careers and material things will end one day as will life itself. What will last will be the legacy we leave. Can we start creating it today? 

According to His Will: Pastor Rajiv's Mid Week Message

 

He Hears AND He Answers 

The Tipping Point

In the year 2000, Malcolm Gladwell wrote a book called the tipping point. According to the book summary "The tipping point is that magic moment when an idea, trend, or social behaviors, crosses a threshold, tips, and spreads like wildfire.

Just as a single sick person can start an epidemic of the flu, so too can a small but precisely targeted push cause a change in mindset, a fashion trend, the popularity of a new product, or a drop in the crime rate. Or a powerful faith in Christ. 

You and I can discuss Christ, God and the Gospels because Christianity itself went through a tipping point when Christianity was rocket-propelled from a dynamic new religion to an official state sponsored religion and can be traced exactly to the day, it was 28th October 312 AD. 

To reach that tipping point were the efforts of Jesus’ disciples, who along with the apostle Paul were on fire with the new Gospel to the point that all but a few of the 12 apostles died natural deaths. The majority were persecuted and executed for their faith. But the virality of that tipping point continued. Like then, today too we need followers who have fire in the belly, not hordes of lukewarm "me too" Christians, trying to fit in with a crowd,  

We need that tipping point again, both individually and as a society. The context with which we evaluate our lives is the material world, on a material scale. Lies often become the truth and truth becomes lies, because that is convenient. We all, without exception, rebel against God while rationalising our behaviours. Obviously we are not happy. We are ever searching for something beyond, something we don’t know. We all have a void that we are constantly trying to fill – maybe social, physical or financial etc.

To create a tipping point or helping to create one, we first need to change our own context and reference points. From materialism to the fullness offered by God. This fullness has no place for farce, ego, social climbing, gossiping and so on. 

Ephesians 3:19,says "And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God"

How do create a tipping point? There are three factors - the messenger, the message itself, and the context of the message. These three factors need to be in sync with each other. 

Further, these three factors can be rolled into one: Become a living example. Create so much value that people want what you have, whether it is peace, satisfaction, the glow of God's love.  Be genuine. Be caring. Be forgiving. Do not put on a farce - People see through you. Our speech often exposes who we are, so let us be careful. 

In fact, what each of us need to become are individual tipping points, creating the gateway to a life in Christ, infecting each other with the joy, peace and security of God. If each of us reach our tipping point, imagine the peace and love we will transmit to each other; the joy we will share and the security we will experience, creating a spiritual fire that will transform the world.

Shattered Dreams : Looking Beyond Failure

The Book of Ruth is one of only two books of the Bible to be named after women (the other is Esther). It's a short book and often easily overlooked. Yet it has always inspired us to look beyond failure and loss.
The short Book of Ruth in the Hebrew scripture has three main characters, Ruth, Naomi and Boaz, from whom you can learn many lessons. The story of Ruth covers a period of loss and despair for Naomi, persistence and devotion of Ruth, a time of bestowing grace and favor for Boaz and an ending of joy and blessing for all three.
As a woman in ancient Israel, Ruth's loss of a husband and her sons was equivalent to losing her security and future. All of her dreams were shattered. It is a study on how to respond to shattered dreams as we follow Naomi's development from a bitter, depressed woman returning home with nothing but a foreign daughter-in-law, into a joyful woman with an adopted son at the end of the story, and with the all important mission of establishing the lineage of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ruth was the great grandmother of Jesus).
We all have faced situations of extreme disappointment, and the story of Ruth shows us how to respond to them. Failure isn't about failing it is about learning. It is about transformations.
In essence, when we face our shattered dreams, we need to show resilience and courage like Ruth, not run away from the situation. Ask God for His vision for us, change our focus or profession or outlook, and be willing to work hard (like Ruth) even if it means we go out of our comfort zone to survive.
With a change in focus, we get new opportunities and a new horizon. It's not easy. it's not quick.
Looking beyond our failures also means we don't look back. Though we may see many possibilities - we choose one in consultation with God - in line with His will. We pray for wisdom, for patience for trust and for faith. And we pray for protection.
We all fail at one time or another, whether we admit it or not. But beyond failure there is God.