Proverbs 13:22 A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children…
What is your legacy? What will people remember you by? How will they remember you?
When my oldest son was in the five or six, we were sitting in our den in Coast Guard housing in Elizabeth City, North Carolina just listening to some Christian music. He was enjoying the music, but as I was watching him, his facial expression changed. I asked him if he would like to listen to something else and he said no. I asked him if he was ‘ok’ and he said he was.
Suddenly, as if working up the courage, he asked me the most difficult question I ever had to answer.
“Daddy, when I get older, will I look like you?” I laughed and said that I certainly hope not, you will be much better looking than me. He said, “no, I mean will I look like you?’ “Do you want to look like me” I asked. His reply took the wind right out of my sails, to coin a nautical statement. “Yes” he replied.
I now knew that I had a very serious question that needed an answer, but I didn’t know where to start. So I just asked that juvinile question, “Why would you want to look like me?’ His answer hit me in the gut.
“I want to look like you so that after you are dead, that people will see you in me.”
I am not an emotional man that cries easily, but tears started flowing freely, I was humbled, proud, happy and awed by his desire. I just hugged him and told him that while he probalby would not look just like me, people indeed would see me in him by the kind of man he grew up to be. That seemed to satisfy him and we listened to more music. As we did, I thought about the verse, “A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children’s children..”. How important is the legacy or inheritance that we leave behind us? I would say it is priceless.
What is a legacy if nothing more than the imprint that you leave on this world? People will remember you not so much from the pictures they see of you, but by your actions and the indelible imprint on you will have on the lives of others.
This is a difficult subject, and yet, by centering our thinking in this way, we could change our current actions into ones that will be remembered in the way we would want them to be remembered. All our actions of yesterday are just that. They are in the past. We can make a change starting today!
What will your legacy be?
Robert C. Crowder Ministries 
Wow! Having the benefit of looking at this whole scenario with 20/20 vision as it were, in that the son is now a father, and the father has seen his son grow into that father, and we have had the benefit of seeing this happen, it’s so awe-inspiring that the son’s simple words came to a beautiful truth.
Bob, you and Linda can certainly look at your lives and know that you have definitive, honorable, godly, beautiful, and faithful legacies.
What a blessing!
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Kimmy,
Wow, what a great insight. I believe, with all my heart, that Bill Crowder (my dad) is alive and well in each of my children. That is His legacy and mine has yet to be written. But there is still a lot of blank pages to fill in. Hmmm, that is a not only a big responsibility but a great excitement at the same time.
It’s a journey…
Bob
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What a sweet story! I am so glad to be a part!! Love you guys!
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Legacy-
Such an important concept. It should be considered by all who wish to achieve anything in this life with great sobriety and
deep meditation, for to not have a meaningful legacy of any
measure is to have passed through this world deadbeat dregs-
averse to God’s most wonderfully intended purposes upon us,
fulfilling the awful pronouncement to have “lived a wasted
life”.
Bob Crowder’s illustration of legacy is clear to the point that
we are constantly sending out messages of some kind to
people in our immediate sphere for good or bad, we are often
being mused upon when we don’t realize it and the very destiny of a precious soul can be influenced by that great
undeniable sermon on display we refer to as “Our Life”.
What we are to others is what we truly are.
When I consider all the significant things that define my
character I will occasionally flash the following words before
my conscious mind as a whip to see how well I’m doing:
Bank, Church, Wife, Boss, and…..JESUS!
This is just a mind game I play on myself and it helps me
pick up the pace a bit more, gets me in the groove of life
where I know I need to be, spurs me on in the race so to
speak, even inspires me.
Our legacy will be determined by our character and our
reputation will be determined by what our acquaintances knew
of us-interestingly enough and strange though it may seem,
if men do not know it, neither does God, for men are the
fingers of God.
Monty May
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the Legacy of mine is to my child is our faith and living peace in our God almighty. fearing God , and making good people to the future , Im so touching to this story !!!!
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