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GLEANINGS FROM THE WORD Experiencing an extraordinary God in ordinary life Issue 744 February 28, 2003 - Legacies I was recently in downtown Edmonton for Missions Fest, an annual missions focused conference that draws people from all over the world. Between sessions, Kathy and I wandered out further into down town through the pedway system to a restaurant for a bite of supper. We went past streets and buildings that bore the name of people who were being remembered for one reason or another. We passed through the Citadel Theatre with its gallery of portraits of the "who's who of Edmonton culture" and it's walkway with stars bearing the name of donors. We passed a library named after a lawyer who had always been a big financial supporter of the library. People will go to great lengths to be acknowledged and remembered. In some places graffiti "taggers" had left their mark to show the world that they had been there. Even the conference center was named by a corporation who paid an undoubtedly expensive fee for their name to be used. It is as if we have a built in desire to leave a legacy to show that we were here. If life is simply the few short years between when we're born and when we die, it's no wonder we want to leave a legacy of our passing. Compared to the mountains, the oceans and the heavens, our eighty or so years are truly insignificant. There are some trees that are known to be more than 4,000 years old. If we assume a generation to be forty years, that’s a hundred generations of people who have come and gone and the tree still lives on. How many people of those hundred generations even have their names remembered? We want to be remembered. People take great risks so that their names will be remembered in the record books. They spend millions of dollars to have their name remembered on a building. They contribute to churches so that a window or a row of pews will "always" bear their name. We write journals to share the stories of our lives so that others will remember the things we've said and done and know of the places we have been. The number of autobiographies of the famous, the infamous and the unknown that have been published is staggering. Don't misunderstand; I'm not against those things. I love to read old journals and discover the past. My father recently shared with me that he has begun a journal of his life and all he that recalls. I'm really looking forward to reading it. I'm sure I'll be grieved by losses he has never spoken of, I'll laugh at stories he never shared before, I'll be amazed by the things he has done and seen and I'll probably be shocked in places. I enjoy reading those sorts of journals and I love to look at old photos. I wonder about the people in them. I wonder who the people were that have buildings and streets named after them. As much as I wonder, I know that the legacy will eventually pass away. Even the best of human legacies is temporary. If there is no afterlife and we have such a short period of time in this world filled with evil and tragedy, we really are in a desolate place. If as some would suggest, we are in fact the random by product of the evolution of a chain of beings from a chance meeting of some obscure proteins that passes into nothingness when life is done, then we live a life without hope. Even our legacies are truly inconsequential. A hundred years from now, the buildings will have been torn down, the paint faded, the street renamed and the journals unread and no one will know of their passing. There is another perspective, one that I believe is the ultimate truth. We were created in the image of a loving God, with a purpose in mind and an eternity to look for. The legacy we leave is in the lives we change for that eternity. A person with whom we've shared the hope of Jesus is that much closer to spending eternity with Father. The missions we give to and ministries we support transform lives forever. Life on this earth is fleeting. "All men are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord stands forever." 1 Peter 1:24-25a NIV Life without God is devoid of meaning. I undertook great projects: I built houses for myself and planted vineyards. I made gardens and parks and planted all kinds of fruit trees in them. I made reservoirs to water groves of flourishing trees. I bought male and female slaves and had other slaves who were born in my house. I also owned more herds and flocks than anyone in Jerusalem before me. I amassed silver and gold for myself, and the treasure of kings and provinces. I acquired men and women singers, and a harem as well--the delights of the heart of man. I became greater by far than anyone in Jerusalem before me. In all this my wisdom stayed with me. I denied myself nothing my eyes desired; I refused my heart no pleasure. My heart took delight in all my work, and this was the reward for all my labor. Yet when I surveyed all that my hands had done and what I had toiled to achieve, everything was meaningless, a chasing after the wind; nothing was gained under the sun. Ecclesiastes 2:4-11 NIV Life with God has meaning and leaves a legacy that will last for eternity. "Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. Matthew 6:19-21 NIV One day with Father is better than 1,000 without Him. Look upon our shield, O God; look with favor on your anointed one. Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere; I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of the wicked. Psalm 84:9-10 NIV How much more so will eternity be? Eternity with Father sharing the legacy of souls brought to be with Him as well. Now that's a real legacy. Until next time, may your mark be a mark for all eternity. Be blessed Hallelu Yah (Praise God)! Kevin YOU ARE Once you have accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, you are forgiven and your sins are forgotten. For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more. Hebrews 8:12 NIV Never let the enemy tell you that you are worthless or insignificant. You have value in the eyes of God so great that it was worth dying for. You are a blessing to the world. Do you want your life to have meaning? Do you want what you do to be remembered? Grab ahold of an eternity with God! You can simply begin the relationship by honestly and completely opening your heart, admitting you need God's help, and saying a prayer along the lines of: Jesus: I have made many mistakes in my life and done things I am not proud of. I have sinned. I need your love and forgiveness. I believe that you came into this world and gave your life on a cross to pay for my sins and that you defeated death and rose again. Please forgive me, and be the Lord of my life. I give my life to you Lord. Amen If you pray this prayer for the first time let me know so I can rejoice with you. Did you know that at Gleanings, we have a dedicated team of prayer warriors and all prayer concerns are kept strictly confidential? Your comments, your questions and your joys are shared with the prayer team, to keep me accountable as the head of the ministry and to encourage them as they see God at work in your life. As with prayer all these things are kept confidential within the Gleanings team. To share your questions, comments, thoughts, prayer concerns and praise reports email us If you enjoyed this issue of Gleanings From The Word, email it, in its entirety, to a friend. For information on use of Gleanings in your church newsletter or other situations please visit the permissions page . You can write to us at Gleanings From The Word Ministries International 114 Oak St Sherwood Park, AB Canada T8A 0V8 © 2003 K.F. "Kevin" Corbin Gleanings From The Word Ministisries International - All Rights Reserved
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