I appeal to you therefore, brothers and sisters, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Romans 12:1

Once again, I’m thinking about legacy. If you didn’t read my post by that title a few weeks ago, here’s a link: 

Paul wrote to the church in Rome, saying  “Now listen up, all you 15-55 year olds, and present your bodies as a living sacrifice to God.” Oh wait, sorry. It seems he said, “brothers and sisters”, not 15-55 year olds. I guess in Paul’s mind if you are still breathing, you should be living every moment of every day for God. Because God never limited Himself to only calling those men and women who hadn’t yet had their mid-life crisis or were as yet pre-menopausal. He doesn’t only ask people to serve Him whom He knows will give Him decades of serving Him as a good return for His investment in calling them. I’ve known couples who went with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) after they retired! In fact, there’s a senior at my church who faithfully texts men in his circle with a scripture every few days just to encourage them.  I even know a precious 85 year old man who has signed up this year to help at VBS!!! I believe that just as 15 year olds can feel the tug of the Holy Spirit to fulfill Romans 12:1, 80-ear-olds can and should too! 

I’ve had the privilege of knowing several ladies well into their 80s and even 90s. I loved each of them, and they were all truly wise and Godly women, but to this day I remember something that separated them into 2 categories in my mind: Those who mentored, prayed for, served, taught, and imparted wisdom to others, and those who felt that they were too old to be of any use to anyone anymore, and so basically lived their last years feeling useless! The thing is, every one of these sweet ladies was fully-equipped by the Lord, but only some of them embraced the idea that there were other women who could truly use their wisdom and prayers, who may have even longed to have a godly spiritual mother in their life.

I believe that if I can live in such a way that I know what God is saying to me, how He is leading me, what He is asking of me, and then I step into those things… that would be a legacy I would love to leave my children and grandchildren! That’s my heart now that I’m in my 70’s, and I’m determined to have that be my heart well into my 80’s and 90’s.  After all, the Spirit of God who lives inside of me is older than time, and He’s not too old to encourage people through me! I don’t ever want to think of myself as too busy, too tired, or too old to be someone God can use. I want that to be my legacy! The wonderful thing about legacies is that any day is a great day to begin or build upon a legacy.

There’s a song by Steve Green that I have loved for years…a whole lot of years! It encourages me to live, not just for myself, but for those who come behind me. The chorus says: 

“Oh may all who come behind us find us faithful.  May the fire of our devotion light their way.  May the footprints that we leave lead them to believe,  and the lives we live inspire them to obey” 

Here’s a link if you’d like to listen to the whole song. I think it will encourage you. It’s called Find Us Faithful.

Heavenly Father, I’m so grateful that You can use even me to bring Jesus into other people’s lives. Thank You that You never have called us to retire from kingdom business. For as long as I live, Lord, I want You to use me to be an encourager, a prayer warrior, a patient listener, and anything else You’ve planned for me. One day I’ll be a part of the great cloud of witnesses that inspire us from their heavenly grandstand. But while I’m still on this earth, use me to point people to Jesus so that they will learn to trust, love, and follow You.  I do love You Lord!