Family and Legacy

Last night at Impact we looked at the genealogy of Jesus in Luke's Gospel. We talked about family and what kind of legacy we would leave behind. I read a will that my great-grandfather wrote when he was a young man in a small book. My family found these in a box full of old books and Bibles on New Year's of this year. The words really meant a lot to me in connection with this topic. I also learned a lot about my great great-grandfather who did some amazing things in his life to combat injustice, the KKK, and government corruption, even in the face of death.

These men loved the Lord and passed down some great things through my family. What will you leave behind in your life for those that come after you? Will you live a life for God that makes such a difference that people 100 years from now will be inspired by it? God made a difference in the lives of those who came before me, and God is making a difference in my life today.

Also, this impromtu will left behind by my great-grandfather, A.C. Moore, was very poignant and poetic. It seems that he knew that his time of death would be uncertain, and he was living a life not wanting to leave regrets. It reminds me of what Solomon said in Eccelesiates 9:9-10,

“Enjoy life with the wife whom you love, all the days of your vain life that he has given you under the sun, because that is your portion in life and and in your toil at which your toil under the sun. Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might, for there is no work or thought or knowledge or wisdom in Sheol, to which you are going.”

And Paul also echoes this type of thought in Colossians 3:23-24,

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance It is the Lord Christ whom you serve.”

Solomon and Paul are not saying at all that our lives have no meaning or there is no hope in life after death. However, they are saying that life is precious and meaningful now. Do not waste it.

Here are the words from A.C. Moore:

I, A.C. Moore, being of sound mind, do hereby declare and proclaim this to be my last will and testament. To my dear father I will of the sunshine in the world, because he loves bright things and it is symbolic of his nature and disposition. To my darling mother I bequeath the flowers that are left in the world, because of their purity and their loveliness. To my mother I also leave a smile from the lips of her boy that she may remember me as I am. To my only sister I leave the happiness and good cheer because she is young and has longer to live and enjoy it. Last I leave to all my heirs “love,” that the whole family may have it forever and ever. Signed before God, A.C. Moore (Alamo Clay Moore)