Yesterday I traveled to Crestwood for a meeting. I serve on a couple of conference teams, and it is always a pleasure to learn from colleagues about best ministry practices and work together to help discover, develop, and send passionate and spiritual leaders across Kentucky.
The drive to Crestwood from Princeton is about 3 hours, with traffic. This provides several opportunities to catch up on downloaded podcasts and listen to your favorite music. One of the things I listened to, yesterday, was the “Hamilton” soundtrack from the award-winning musical.
I’ve had the soundtrack for several months, but it was the first time I sat down in one sitting to listen to the entire album. The entire musical is a fascinating telling of the story of Alexander Hamilton and his involvement in the country’s founding. It is my hope that one day I will be able to see the musical in person, but for now I’m satisfied with the album.
One of the last songs in the musical is entitled “The World Was Wide Enough.” It describes the events surrounding the famous duel between Hamilton and then Vice President Aaron Burr. There is a lyric that graps your attention when the song reaches Hamilton’s mindset and version of the event.
Legacy. What is a legacy? It’s planting seeds in a garden you never get to see.
I love lyric. I especially love what it means for each of us as we give witness to our faith. Every day we are leaving a legacy. This is particularly true in the ways we are giving a lasting impression upon those who are coming behind us. We have an opportunity to inspire, encourage, and teach young believers, children, and others who will take up the mantle of the church after us about what it means to be a disciple of Jesus Christ.
Planting seeds in a garden you never get to see reminds me a lot about Paul. This is what he did with someone like Timothy. He invested in his life, encouraged him, and helped him to be the leader and disciple God called him to be. Paul never allowed the difficulties of life or being in prison prevent him from investing in someone else.
There are people all around you who yearn for someone to take an interest in them, to encourage them, and to have someone who wants to be a part of their life. That is how you leave a legacy, because the ways you invest in someone will encourage a lifelong commitment of faith in ways that you may never get to see for yourself.
So, I wonder who might be someone who God is calling you to invest in? Who is someone that you can encourage? Who is someone that you can spend time with and helping them experience all that God has for them?
How might you leave a legacy by planting seeds in the life of someone else?
Shannon Blosser 