Living Up to a Legacy

This past week, a dear friend of our family passed away. He leaves behind a wife, 7 children & their spouses, and 25 grandchildren. I say passed away, but only his body passed away, and he'll get another one of those that doesn't have the limitations that his previous one had. We know from scripture that his spirit has been promoted into the presence of the Lord. He was a godly man and a definite follower of Christ.

The funeral was this past Tuesday, and through the magic of Facebook status updates, pictures, and even some of the words that were said, I was able to enjoy the feeling and content of the funeral. A common theme was that the children desired to live up to the legacy that their father left them. They want to be children that bring honor to their father by living out the faith he lived out and taught them from an early age.

It got me thinking about being proper children. The desire that is there to live up to the expectations and example of our parents often drives some of our decisions and especially at a time of loss encourage us to make good decisions. God's Word tells us:

But I say unto you, Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully
use you, and persecute you;
That ye may be the children of your
Father which is in heaven:
for He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
- Matthew 5:44-45

Talk about a legacy! When we see the sun shinning, it should remind us of the living legacy of our heavenly Father. When we see the rain falling, it also should remind us of our heavenly Father's living legacy. I guess that takes away our complaints about the weather. If we thought about how each natural gift of our Father is given on the good and the bad, and each sought to emulate that pattern in our lives, we would grow more and more toward living up to the legacy of our Heavenly Father.