What Will Your Legacy Be?

What's your family's legacy?  Have you ever thought about it?

Most people don't.  Most people don't give it a second thought.

If you died today, what would your legacy be?  How would you be remembered?  Would you be remembered?

The Scripture text that we are looking at today is Genesis 25:19-34 and Genesis 27:1-40.  

This is the account of the birth of Jacob and Esau, and then Jacob stealing the birthright and blessing from his brother Esau.

If Esau had been able to carry out his plan to kill his brother, this would be Jacob's legacy.  He would only be remembered as a deceiver and a cheat.  This is what happens when we don't trust God's plan for our life, and we try to take matters into our own hands.  We end up hurting people with our self-serving attitudes and actions.

In this account God had already told Rebekah, Jacob's mother, that He favored Jacob.  He had told her that "the older will serve the younger". (Gen. 25:23)  God already had it worked out that the Savior would come from Jacob's line.  Jacob would be blessed.  Yet even with that promise, Jacob stole Esau's birthright; and then Rebekah plotted to have Jacob steal Isaac's blessing.  The blessing that he was going to give to Esau.

This is quite the family mess.  Esau gets so angry that he actually plots to kill his brother.  Do you have any messy situations like that in your family?  Interestingly, if you do it probably centers around the same type of situation: Family inheritance.  

Sadly many families are torn apart when the parents die and it comes time to settle the estate.  Even when there is a will that spells out clearly who gets what, there is still hurt feelings and animosity between family members.  It's sad how many families fall apart after mom and dad die.

Thankfully, this doesn't have to be your legacy, or your family's legacy.  You can choose instead to love and serve your family.  Jacob could have made much better decisions when it came to how he treated his brother.  Jacob could have trusted God's plan and patiently waited for it to be revealed.

Don't take this too far.  It is not our job to try to guess God's plan for every detail of our life.  It is our job to use the intelligence and logic that he's given us to figure out how best to serve him.  As long as what we want for our life isn't sinful, and we don't have to sin to get it- then go for it.  Ultimately, the best question to ask when trying to figure out your path in life is:  How can I best serve Jesus?

That question will guide you in every decision you have to make.  If you make the mission of your life to serve Jesus to the very best of your ability you won't go wrong.  You may have to course correct from time to time, but you won't fall into the same trap as Jacob.  This question will help keep you from hurting other people for the sake of your own gain.  Staying focused on Jesus will help you from being too focused on yourself.

That is how you build a meaningful legacy.

God bless

Jason Fredrick