What It All Comes Down To

A group of well-dressed mourners stands around the graveside of a major corporate executive. The funeral service was a testimony to his success and widely-felt influence. The coffin is beautiful, the headstone is imposing, and the crowd is large.

As the pastor finishes the benediction, a mid-level-management type standing at the back of the crowd leans over to whisper to one of his partners. He asks a question that has been in the back of everyone’s mind ever since Mr. Big’s health began to fail a few months before.

“How much do you think he left behind?”

His imagination is weighing the bequests, the will, the millions, and what he would do with that money if any of it were coming his way. He asks his seemingly oblivious friend again, “Hey, man, how much do you think he left behind?”

His partner turns his head to utter a hushed reply, “All of it.“

No doubt. However much he had, he has none of it now: he left it all behind.

Ironic, is it not? Our best efforts to be found successful in this world all come to naught if we consider success something to be found in this world. I’ve done lots of funerals, and I’ve never seen a U-Haul behind a hearse.

Indeed, when it all comes down, what it all comes down to is legacy and character: the legacy you leave behind in this world, and the character you take with you out of it.

Legacy is the heritage of lasting value we impart to those who follow behind us: not the temporary things like stocks and bonds, net-worth and annuities; but rather the non-tangible and eternal things, like faith in Christ, a pattern of Godly living and a commitment to family and church.

Each of us leaves a legacy, though many among us do so by accident. I want to leave a legacy on purpose. I want to be remembered for something worth remembering.

What do you want to be remembered for? When people meet at your memorial service, what do you want them to talk about?

In truth, your legacy is determined by your character. Character is who you are and what you do when nobody is watching. It’s the real you, the inner you, the you that is determined by your core values and what you believe to be true and important.

So let me ask you: how are you on the inside? Who is the real you? What are you like when nobody is watching?

If those questions make you a bit uneasy, join the crowd. We all fall short not only of God’s glory, but of our own aspirations too.

The good news is that God is in the business of continual transformation. I offer you this brief prayer asking Him to change you.

“Lord, I want to leave behind a legacy of Christ-like character. Please keep changing me. Make me more like Jesus today. In His name, Amen.”