5 Essentials to Leaving a Legacy That Will Outlive You

By Dennis Rainey

Editor’s note: This is the second of a two-part blog post series on the legacy we leave to others through the lives we lead. In part one I wrote about a man who understands the concept of legacy better than most, Crawford Loritts, and we’ve also put up a two-episode conversation with Crawford on our YouTube channel, Inspiring Courageous Faith. Click here for the first interview with Crawford and here for the second.

A husband and wife who walked by faith and, consequently, left a legacy far beyond anything they could have imagined, lived in the early 1700s in colonial America. Their names were Jonathan and Sarah Edwards.

Jonathan Edwards felt God’s call to become a minister. He and his young bride, Sarah, began a pastorate in a small congregation. During the years that followed, he wrote numerous sermons, prayers, and books, and was influential in beginning the Great Awakening, a revival in America in the 1700s. 

Jonathan and Sarah were parents to 11 children who grew into adulthood. Sarah was a partner in her husband’s ministry, and he sought her advice regarding sermons and church matters. They spent time talking about these things together and, when their children were old enough, the parents included them in the discussions.

The impact of the Edwards’s lives have been far-reaching, but the most measurable results of their faithfulness to God’s call is found through their descendants. Elizabeth Dodds records a study done by A. E. Winship in 1900 in which he lists a few of the accomplishments of 1,400 Edwards descendants he was able to find:

• 100 lawyers and a dean of a law school

• 80 holders of public office

• 66 physicians and a dean of a medical school

• 65 professors of colleges and universities

• 30 judges

• 13 college presidents

• 3 mayors of large cities

• 3 governors of states

• 3 U.S. senators

• 1 controller of the United States Treasury

• 1 Vice President of the United States

What kind of legacy will you and your spouse leave? Will it be lasting? Will it be imperishable and eternal? Or will you leave behind only tangible items—buildings, money, and/or possessions?

The apostle Paul instructed Timothy to invest his life in faithful men who would be able to pass God’s truth on to the next generation (2 Timothy 2:2). Where does God want you and your spouse to invest the life you have been given?

Here are five essentials to leaving a legacy that will outlive you:

1. Fear the Lord and obey Him. Your legacy begins in your heart, in your relationship with God. Psalm 112:1-2 reads: “Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments! His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.”

On our first Christmas together, Barbara and I gave a gift to God first. Each of us wrote a “title deed to my life”—giving God ownership of our marriage, of our hopes of having children, of our relationships, of our rights to our lives, of whatever ministry God gave us. We gave everything to Him. That gift of surrender has shaped our future.

God showed up and showed off. He gave us six children and their spouses. And blessed them (and us) with 27 grandchildren. He gave us a mission of shaping this generation … and much, much more! Such as lifelong friends who continue to stimulate us to love and good deeds (Hebrews 10:24).

2. Recognize the world’s needs and respond with compassion and action. In Matthew 9:36 we read: “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” You and your spouse need to leave a legacy by being committed to doing something truly good in our world. 

Many Christians today are walking in the middle of the road; they’re so focused on what other people think that they are unwilling to take any risks to make an impact for Christ. As a result, they just blend in with the world. 

I’ve said it in my blogs before:

The middle of the road is NO PLACE TO BE!

When you fly over rows of houses, do you wonder how many people in those homes know Jesus?

This year tens of millions globally will die without hearing the name of Christ. Hundreds of millions will pray to idols. Someone needs to reach these people with the Good News. You and I cannot do it all, but we can do something.

John F. Kennedy, in his book Profiles in Courage, described the need for courageous people: “Some men show courage throughout the whole of their lives. Others sail with the wind until the decisive moment when their conscience and events propel them into the center of the storm.” If you want to leave a lasting legacy, you need to act with courage to reach out to those in need.

Storms? Yes, your surrender to Jesus will result in Him propelling you into uncertainty and turbulence. Didn’t Jesus say that a servant is not greater than his master?  Our Master, Jesus, stepped out of heaven and took the form of human flesh so that He might fulfill God’s mission for Him. He suffered unimaginable pain when He died on the cross for sins and defeated death.

3. Pray as a couple that God will use you to accomplish His purposes. As recorded in 1 Chronicles 4:10, Jabez prayed, “Oh that you would bless me and enlarge my border, and that your hand might be with me …” And God granted what he asked.

What did Jabez ask God to do? Bless him. Give him new turf and enlarge his sphere of influence. Keep him from temptation. And stay with him. Pray this prayer with your spouse. Walk by faith. Fulfill your God-given mission. And expect God to give you opportunities to impact people’s lives. 

There is no greater mission in life than the adventure of a lifetime of walking daily with Almighty God using you to transform lives and their eternal destiny.

4. Resolve to be better stewards of your gifts and abilities. God has gifted you and your spouse with certain talents and abilities. Go on a date together and take an inventory with your spouse, discussing about how God has used both of you in the past. And what your dreams are going forward. Plug into the local church, which needs committed laymen and women who have a strong, godly character and a vision for their communities.

As you take your inventory, identify your convictions. Thomas Carlyle wrote, “Conviction is worthless until it can convert itself into daily conduct.” Talk about what you are willing to die for so you can ultimately determine what you will live for.

Never done anything like this before? There’s nothing like a midcourse correction to insure that your lives fully accomplish your Master’s mission.

It was Jim Elliott who carved his life into the hearts of others who said, “He is no fool to give that which he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot lose.”

It’s interesting that now, after being in His service as a couple since 1972, that this is still a question that Barbara and I talk and pray about: how can we best be used up for the gospel of Jesus Christ and His work on planet earth?

You are likely familiar with the story of King David in the Old Testament.  His life was checkered with wins and losses.  I found it very interesting that Acts 13:36 says David died “after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation.” Barbara and I want it to be said of us that we loved God all the way to the end of our lives and served God’s purposes in our generation. That leads me to the fifth way you can leave a godly legacy …

5. Ask God to give your children a sense of purpose, direction, and mission. As Neil Postman once said, “Our children are the living messengers we send to a time we will not see.” What’s the message your children have been commissioned to carry to their generation?

David Livingstone, the doctor and missionary to Africa, said, “I will go anywhere, as long as it is forward.” And by moving forward and advancing God’s kingdom, he undoubtedly also advanced his sense of dignity.

Embracing a clear vision and a direction in life will yield significance to you and your spouse, especially if the omnipotent God of the universe has set that heading and direction. In fact, true vision, direction, and destiny can come only from the One who controls the present and the future. 

By discovering your eternal destiny, you will begin to build lasting dignity in your lives. The internal awareness of that God-ordained dignity will enhance the self-esteem of every member of your family.

The challenge is the same for all of us. Will we follow Christ and fulfill His call and vision for our lives? Just as we found spiritual life in no other person than Jesus Christ, so we find a dignity like no other in the destiny He provides.

Compared to eternity, life is very short. Resolve as a couple to surrender to Christ and His mission for your lives and live a life of NO REGRETS.  

Portions of this blog were excerpted with permission from our book  Building Your Mate’s Self-Esteem.

Be sure to watch my two-part video interview with Crawford Loritts about the legacy we leave to others. It’s on our YouTube channel, Inspiring Courageous Faith. Click here for the first interview with Crawford and here for the second.

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