Legacy: How Long Will You Be Remembered?
100 years from your death, will anyone remember your life? Think about that question in the context of your own family tree. Do you know the names of your great-great-grandparents?
Knowing you will be forgotten may make the rest of your life feel like an exercise in futility. It’s easy to think, “If no one will remember me, why would I even care about my legacy in the time I have left?”
As people approach and live in the Encore of life, they have a heightened sense of legacy. They know their remaining years matter, and they want to finish well, but without focused direction, they may underestimate, overestimate, or misappropriate their efforts.
What if we numbered our remaining days for the highest and best use? Greatness is not found in building our own legacy, but in proclaiming the great works of God from one generation to the next.
Legacy Matters
There is a temptation to define our legacy based on how much we have achieved. Our metric for productivity changes in retirement, when success is no longer based on paycheck, job performance, tenure, or commission.
What kind of legacy are we pursuing in our Encore years? Psalm 92:14-15 gives us a description:
“The righteous still bear fruit in old age; they are ever full of sap and green, to declare that the Lord is upright; he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him.”
Sap. It’s the life of a tree. It’s the energy nourishing the branches so that they bear fruit. What is the sap of old age? Declaring God is good, and that He will always be the foundation of our lives.
Don’t Overestimate Your Legacy
Proclaiming the goodness of God is in direct competition with our propensity to exalt ourselves. And this propensity exists whether you just recently committed your life to Christ or have been a Christian for decades. Kenneth Boa describes it this way in Recalibrate Your Life:
“Human pride desires to be recognized by people and assured of the significance and results of our actions; the humble person desires that others remember God and honor his name because of how they lived.”
Retirement is notoriously a stage of life when people say “It’s my time.” If we’re asking ourselves, “How will people remember me?” we are overestimating our legacy and asking the wrong question. Because a day is coming, in 100 years or less, when no one on earth will remember us!
If we’re asking, “Will people remember Jesus most when they remember me?” then we are asking a question that is aimed at our eternal King rather than our earthly legacy.
Recalibration in the Encore of life means Jesus is increasing and we are decreasing (John 3:30). It means we talk about His works more and about our own accomplishments less. It means we are growing in the awareness that it is God who is powerfully at work within us, rather than thinking we deserve the credit.
Don’t Underestimate Your Legacy
While Boa acknowledges the approaching and inevitable decline in physical strength in our Encore years, he rejects the idea that physical decline equates to decreased legacy.
“As we age, we can tend to underestimate our older selves and think our best years are behind us. While our health and physical vitality may wane, and our circle of influence may shrink, the greatest opportunity to make an impact on the next generations can come toward the end of life. If we are wise, we will seize the uniqueness of the season called old age and spend it on the things that truly matter.”
Boa is telling us to beware of a dangerous lie: that our later lives do not hold great opportunity.
Others underestimate their legacy because of mistakes and failures. They believe their past disqualifies them from a meaningful legacy. But Jesus is the reconciler of all things. He does not remove the memories or experiences of our past, but there is potential for a redeemed legacy.
“It is never too early nor too late to leave a lasting legacy. Each of us is on earth for a purpose, and God is the one who establishes our legacy. To truly have a lasting impact we need to continually recalibrate our perspective of our time and resources so that we are living in light of eternity.”
Those who have been forgiven by Jesus for the sins of their past can live in a recalibrated future. God invites us to be strong and courageous for all of life, especially in our Encore years. What opportunities exist in your life to see God’s reconciliation, forgiveness, and healing take place? And how would it bring God glory if you humbly and soberly stepped into that healing process?
Recalibrate Your Legacy
God's invitation is not to a legacy anchored in self or to underestimate our potential, but to a lasting legacy filled with proclamation and praise.
Our significance is not measured by how long our name survives. Our legacy is living to God’s glory.
Here are four questions Boa asks to help us recalibrate our motives:
Why am I doing this?
Sometimes we have done the same thing for so long we forget why we still do it. It’s always meaningful to evaluate our thoughts and actions rather than just keeping our heads in the sand
Is there some other way God is calling me to spend my time, effort, or money?
We desire to be receptive to God at work in our lives in new ways, rather than entrenched and closed off.
Is there any way I can do this same activity but with more God-centered focus?
Hobbies, grandkids, and travel are not bad. But we do have the opportunity to aim these activities toward legacy rather than strictly leisure.
Am I loving God and others in this?
There is a humility when we evaluate our motives, rather than assuming we already have the best intentions.
Wherever you are in the process of thinking about your Encore, there are a few simple next steps to choose from:
If you’d like to talk one-on-one, I’d be glad to connect.
Or if you’d rather ease into the conversation, you’re welcome to join us for one of our weekly lunches.
