Psalm 18:21-36, Deuteronomy 6:16–25, Hebrews 2:1–10
Sometimes the greatest legacy we leave is the little things we do. Where we were not shown love, we show love to others. Where people did not build up, we build up. We may never see any of these little steps, but if we are faithful to follow God, letting him guide us, a Godly legacy comes naturally. When it becomes a Godly habit, we don’t have to ponder long to answer questions of why we do things.
In Deuteronomy, we really are reading the legacy that Moses seeks to pass on, not just to his children, or his immediate tribe, but to the entire people called Israel. Imagine having such a potential legacy. The self-imposed pressure would be huge. Yet, the purpose of a legacy is not to bear the entirety of the burden yourself, but to share it. It is shared with the leaders with whom you work, it also is shouldered by the ones to whom it is passed.
Moses wants to make sure that it is not just the leaders or priests that bear the burden. The next generation (and the generations that follow) is the goal of passing on a legacy. Moses wants the parents to understand their place in passing on the legacy of God. The parents, leaders, and priests all have their place in passing on the legacy that they have received. It is not just passing it on, however, that makes it successful. Just passing on information is just that. It is living out what was passed on that makes the legacy successful. Just as with the Psalm, there is a result that comes with the successful passing, God’s preservation and looking out for them.
Right and True information and living is the expression of a fulfilled legacy. The author of Hebrews, even after such a short time of Christianity, is already concerned in his writing that the Right and True information is being lost. The author of Hebrews would be already well aware of the memory loss that Israel experienced after escaping Egypt. The author reinforces the importance of the right information being passed along. Often this gets confused, too. People often turn to “right” action without “right” belief (and vice-versa). When the “right” action is done it loses its long-term effectiveness and purposed when divorced from the why. Doing “good” things, for example, doesn’t earn one’s way to Heaven.
1) What “right” thing(s) have you done without knowing the “right” reason(s)?
2) With whom do you work (or have worked) to make sure that you pass on a legacy worth having?
3) Why is it good for us to remember what legacy we are passing on and why?
FD) Why is important to know why we do things?