Your Legacy

Do you recognize the person of whom Neal Pollard has written?

He was a prominent British neurologist for more than 40 years. He made a major contribution in academic medicine for his work in "autonomic failure." At St. Mary's Hospital in London, the Imperial College School of Medicine named a lecture after him.  The 82-year-old doctor has served as Director of the National Hospital for Nervous Diseases as well as Chairman of the Editorial Board of the journal Clinical Autonomic Research. He has written textbooks.

All of this is remarkable for one born to working class parents, but typical of his famous drive he decided very early in life to earn a place in one of England's elite universities where he could study medicine. That university was Oxford. That is quite a distinguished career for an overachiever, but this man of science knows that most people know nothing of these achievements in his life. His name is associated with something that took less than four minutes to occur. In fact, he was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1975 for his efforts in this realm.

His name is Sir Roger Bannister. For many, that is enough information. However, if I said, "The First Man To Run A Mile In Less Than Four Minutes," that would resonate with many more of you. His efforts, while in college and at age 25, on May 6, 1954, took 3:59.4, made history and opened the door for many other sub-four minute miles. He was an Olympic Athlete before that momentous day and he served in various official sports positions since that day, but even within athletics he is remembered for that one run. It was not even his best time, as he ran the mile later that year in Vancouver at 3:58.8. He won over 100 awards in his brief career as a runner. But he is remembered most for "the run." *

Neal reminds us: “Each of us is building a legacy that will outlive us … Will it be some attribute? Some cause? Some incident? Will it be something to cherish or embarrass?”

The most important part of our legacy hinges upon how this question will be answered: “Was he/she a Christian?”  For in the end, nothing else will really matter.

OUR SINS, for which we do not want to be remembered, can be washed away by the blood of Jesus (see Acts 22:16). 

God loves us so much that He gave His Son to die on the cross for our sins (John 3:16).  God has promised to cleanse us from sin when we place our faith and trust in Him (Acts 16:30-31), turn from our sins in repentance (Acts 17:30-31), confess Jesus before men (Romans 10:9-10), and are baptized (immersed) into Christ (Acts 2:38).

Then, we must “run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2).

To live for Jesus as a faithful child of God is the GREATEST legacy we could ever leave behind.

What’s YOUR story?  Won’t YOU allow Christ to blot out the “bad parts” and enable you to leave a lasting, Christian legacy?

David A. Sargent, Minister