This Little Light of Mine

“I thank my God every time I remember you” (Philippians 1:3 NIV). Three simple words that speak volumes from a loving heart to a heart that is loved. Whether afar off in time, distance, or both, those three words speak of a legacy. I – Remember –You. I’d hazard a guess that no one really wants to be forgotten – turned from a vibrant life into a faded memory, eroded like the weather-beaten engraving on an ancient tombstone. Who lies here? What of their life? Their death? Did they matter? Are they, were they missed? As I write this, we are finalizing our March 2021 issue of SLM. This is our twelfth issue since an unexpected global pandemic changed our view of life and the world, perhaps for all time. Many of us have lost friends, friends of friends, even family members, who were stolen out of our time and place much too soon. We should not be in mourning; yay, we have not been allowed to mourn! And yet our tears run hard and fast, like the river that follows a desert storm. We can read how Moses cried out against God in his prayers regarding times such as this. “You turn people back to dust, saying, ‘Return to dust, you mortals.’ A thousand years in your sight are like a day that has just gone by, or like a watch in the night. Yet you sweep people away in the sleep of death—they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered” (Psalm 90: 3-6 NIV).

by Larry VanHoose

I don’t want to be morbid, but I do think that more than any other time in recent history, we each face our own mortality almost as near as the breath of wind on our face. Even our youth have been stricken by unforeseen, unexpected loss. I recently heard a brief chapel message titled, Outlive Your Death, delivered to young college students from their professor. I found myself also listening with eager ears, and I sensed a growing hunger and yearning to create – in the days that remain – a legacy of remembrance for those I love. Like Moses, I want to be wise on the back side of my waning years. “Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12 NIV).” I read about the gift of a legacy on an insurance We should not be in company’s website of all mourning; yay, we have places (who’s business not been allowed model is for those who seek to leave a financial to mourn! legacy). And yet I And yet our tears run hard found their well-crafted and fast, like the river that and thoughtful words resonated with my follows a desert storm. own thoughts: A lasting legacy is all about the actions you take during your life and the way those actions affect how people remember you. People learn how to leave a legacy to ensure their loved ones will be taken care of when they’re gone, and always remember them with love. The insurance company, Bestow, ended their article with a list on how to leave a legacy at both work and home (https://www. bestow.com/blog/how-to-leave-a-lasting-legacy/). You should know this however—no legacy, no matter how financially significant, will last beyond a few generations at most. The only lasting legacy is legacy of love. The apostle John in the Bible simply said that, “God is love.” That lasting, yes eternal, love of his beckons to each of us from beyond time and place. Like his first-begotten Son (read John 3:16), God wants us also to have and leave a legacy of love. Let’s reflect on that with these words of Moses’s prayer in Psalm 90: 16-17 (NIV):

May your deeds be shown to your servants, your splendor to their children.

May the favor of the Lord our God rest on us; establish the work of our hands for us— yes, establish the work of our hands.