When I get older losing my hair
many years from now,
will you still be sending me a valentine,
birthday greetings, bottle of wine?
(“When I’m Sixty-Four”, Lennon and McCartney, 1967)
Yesterday (March 5) was my birthday. How old am I? Let’s say it is a figure that rhymes with “sixty-four.” Let’s also say I am at an age when I also wonder how many more birthdays I will have. Well according to www.deathclock.com my death day will be December 15, 2028. (If I lose 10 kilos my BMI will improve dramatically and I will live forever but that’s another story.) Am I worried? Nah. I know whose call it is. Only He knows and He knows best.
You saw me before I was born.
Every day of my life was recorded in your book.
Every moment was laid out
before a single day had passed.
(Psalm 139:16 NLT)
But I am at an age where I take seriously the Psalmist’s advice from Psalm 90: “Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom (v. 12 NLT).” (You may recognise the more familiar rendition from the TNIV: “Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom.”) As I grow older, I ask the Lord with greater urgency to give me the wisdom I need to live my life well. Indeed as James L. Mays reminds us, it is not how much time we have left that should be our main concern. Our focus should be on living wisely, living in the fear of the Lord in the time given to us.
We do not concentrate on the fact that we are given only a limited, though unknown, number of days and years and undertake to live them with wisdom. The young think they are immortal, the old despair because their time is over. Time is a burden when we have to wait, a scarcity when we are busy … Wisdom, in contrast, sees the time given us as “the unique opportunity” (Barth), the chance to be and do in the fear of the Lord. (Psalms, Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994, 295-296)
And if we are wise we will ask what legacy we want to leave behind. I have been reading Ruth Tucker’s book, Leadership Reconsidered (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House, 2008), and she asks:
But are we really prepared to die? That question is most frequently asked in reference to our eternal state. As such it is surely a valid question. But there is another side to the coin. On the one side is the bliss of eternal life, on the other side is the sum of a legacy left behind with no opportunity to add to what is left undone. (207)
It is true that traditionally, when evangelicals talk about the brevity of life, they are more concerned that people know where they are going after they die. Tucker challenges us to also consider what we should be doing with our lives before that time.
As we contemplate our legacy footprint, we must honestly assess our lives. What are we living for and what will we leave behind for generations that follow? (216)
As I think of the days I have left, I think the legacy I want to leave behind is a certain kind of people. I hope that my work, my teaching, preaching, writing and mentoring, will leave behind some key individuals who are marked by the following:
1. They want to make a difference in the world for Christ. (John 12:24-26)
I am not talking about heroic deeds or dramatic deeds. But we all have our spheres of influence. I hope that the people I influence will make a difference in their spheres of influence, helping people and situations to get closer to the King and to Kingdom values. They understand that it is in giving that they receive and that they are most alive when they live for others.
2. They live integrated lives. (Mark 12:28-31)
These people will reject the false division of life into sacred and secular compartments. Knowing full well that it will be tough, they still seek to live the totality of their lives under the Lordship of Christ. They constantly look to the Lord for wisdom and power to live out their faith in every area of their lives.
3. They understand the importance of friendship. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-12)
In an increasingly lonely world these people understand friendship as integral to how lives are touched and changed. But they also understand friendship as something basic to life, something as essential as food and water. They put a high premium on community and value the uniqueness of the different individuals in their lives.
It gets clearer year by year that I no longer have the time to do all that I like to do. Therefore I need to ask the Lord what He wants me to do with the time I have left however long or short that may be. It will entail saying goodbye to some dreams so that I can be free to embrace the ones the Lord wants me to pursue.
I believe that this is my brief — to influence people to live lives of service, integration and friendship. By the mercy of God and the help of my friends, this is the legacy I hope to leave behind. How about you? What will be your legacy?