John 17:4

Dan & Claire Maudhub reflect on the responsibility we have been given in the gift of life

Dan & Claire Maudhub

The Commonwealth Games are in full flow and the home nations are doing brilliantly. It reminds me of London 2012 when the spirits of the whole nation were lifted and it made for such a great summer and these games are also doing just that.

There was a lot of talk about legacy at London 2012 and the Olympics being so much more than just an event and again the same message has been said at these Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games website says: The Commonwealth Games in 2014 will be a spectacular display of world-class sporting talent. But success won't just be measured in medals. It'll be measured in jobs and the development of our businesses. And it'll be measured in the number of people getting active and making use of the facilities available in our communities.

There is a whole website dedicated to the Legacy the Games will create. The whole event is so much more than what we see on TV.

Our Christian walk is the same. Living in the fullness of God's Kingdom is so much more than just attending church, doing Bible studies and going to events. Although all of these things are good, there is so much more.

God wants us to leave a legacy on this earth. Believe it or not, our time on this earth is short, (I think the older you get, the more you realise this), and we don't have a great deal of time to make an impact and leave a legacy. We can't afford to waste time holding on to offences or issues from the past. We need to walk as Jesus walked and look to the Father each day and say, "How can I glorify your name today?"

The great evangelist Billy Graham once said: "Our days are numbered. One of the primary goals in our lives should be to prepare for our last day. The legacy we leave is not just in our possessions, but in the quality of our lives. What preparations should we be making now? The greatest waste in all of our earth, which cannot be recycled or reclaimed, is our waste of the time that God has given us each day".

What an insightful and practical statement. We live busy lives focused on so many different things, but are we focused on leaving a legacy? Are we looking at our lives and asking, what am I building for the next generation? What life-long relationships am I developing? What do I do with my time that builds into other people's lives?

Jesus said something amazing in John 17 known as the High Priestly Prayer. We all know that Jesus came to pay the price for our sins through His death and resurrection, but in John 17 verse 4, Jesus says He had accomplished the work Father God had called Him to. Yet, that was before the cross! So what was this work? Well immediately before and after Jesus explains: Firstly, it was to glorify the Father; from verse 6 onwards, Jesus explains the work further. Jesus shows that part of the work Father God had for Him to do was to make God known to the disciples; for Jesus to show the disciples who God really was, who He was and how the Kingdom of God operates.

These were unlearned men who had been taught something so incredible by Jesus. And remember all of this happened before Jesus went to the cross. These men then changed the world as they dwelt in unity and were empowered by the Holy Spirit. That's what I call legacy! Jesus putting into a group of ordinary men who then went on to change the world.

Our encouragement to you today is to lift your eyes off your circumstances and know that one of your primary responsibilities on this planet is to build a legacy for the next generation and look for the small opportunities today to change someone's life.

Go for it!