In place of your fathers shall be your sons; you will make them like princes in all the earth. I will cause your name to be remembered in all generations; therefore nations will praise you forever and ever.

   - Psalm 45.16, 17

The northern land shone, the western people blazed,
he lit up the east with chaste clerics.
Good the legacy of God’s angel when he glorified him.

  - Dallán Forgaill, Amra Choluimb Chille, Irish, 6th century

Not a few people are worried these days about the economy. They’re concerned that they won’t be able to retire as soon as they’d planned, or that they won’t have much of a legacy to leave their children after they’re gone.

We should think more about that – about legacy, I mean.

What will we leave behind when this earthly life is done? Colum Cille was remembered by Dallán Forgaill for the legacy of light, learning, and leadership he left behind after his death. A great scholar, passionate preacher, courageous missionary, and devoted disciple-maker, Colum was responsible for the “break-out” of Celtic Christianity from its roots in Ireland to points east – Scotland, the Low Countries, France, Switzerland, Italy, and elsewhere.

Colum founded the monastery and training school on Iona and devoted the bulk of his adult life to propagating the Gospel by every means. Heir to a tribal throne, he forsook his earthly inheritance for the sake of the Gospel, and he left a legacy of scholarship and missionaries that affected the history of Europe for centuries.

What legacy will you and I leave for the generations to come? Psalm 45.17 sets a standard toward which we can all aspire. What will we do today to help ensure that, when we’re gone, the praises of God will continue, increase, and be augmented in the lives of those who have known us?

Each of us has a Personal Mission Field; each of us has opportunities, each day, to advance the Kingdom of grace and truth into the darkness of unbelief, misery, and lies. Each of us building a legacy – some kind of legacy – with every small deed, casual word, or missed opportunity before us, every day.

Why not make yours a legacy of praise to the Lord?

Here is a legacy no recession can erode, no depression thwart, no hard times quench. It’s not too late to be planning for – and working toward – this legacy as your own.

Psalm 90.12-15 (Landas: “My Faith Has Found a Resting Place”)
So teach us all our days to note that wisdom may be ours.
Return, O Lord, have mercy on those servants who are Yours.
Each morning let Your love appear that we for joy may sing,
And make us glad for every day You us affliction bring.

Thank You for the gift of time and opportunities, O Lord; help me to use each to build of my life a legacy of praise to You.

T. M. Moore, Principal
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