The Final Turn

Brethren and fellow-countrymen, if it was ever granted to mortals to trace the designs of Providence and interpret its manifestations in favor of its cause, we may, with humility of soul, cry out, ‘Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be the praise’  (Samuel Adams, August 1, 1776). This was spoken at a time when the future of the United States was uncertain. Thirteen colonies defending their liberty from an empire. Every leader and statesman had their eye on the future. On the legacy that they were leaving to their children and grandchildren. We see the evidence throughout history. The last will and testament of revolutionist Patrick Henry read, I have now disposed of all my worldly property to my family: there is one thing more I wish I could give them, and that is the Christian religion. If they had this, and I had not given them one shilling, they would be rich; and if they had it  not, and I had given them all the world, they would be poor (Last Will and Testament of Patrick Henry, 1799).

The founders of the country had no idea what would become of the nation after their time on earth. But they were planting the seeds for the future. Others like Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt would water those seeds. And in the glimpse of the American Revolution we see what Paul was trying to convey to the Corinthian church. Paul said I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth (1 Corinthians 3:6-7 ESV). Paul understood legacy. That he was sowing seeds of the gospel throughout the ancient world. Someone else would come along and water that seed, but it was only God who could grow those seeds into a flourishing faith. We all have a part to play in the movement of the gospel

The question becomes, do we have the same thoughts today as the revolutionists and Paul? Do we see the role that we have as an important piece in the movement of the gospel? That the seeds we sow and the legacy that we leave is important? The reality we face in this day and age is that the world tells us to worry about ourselves. To get what I can get. Collect enough money. Buy more. Give less.

But when we make our way to the final turn and head into the home stretch of this life, what is the legacy you are leaving? What seeds of the gospel are you planting that someone else will come along and water?