“This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.’” (Jeremiah 35:19)
Years ago, Stephen Covey wrote a book describing habits of successful people. Habit number two is “begin with the end in mind.” To accomplish anything in life, you need a plan or a vision.
He encouraged the reader to imagine attending his own funeral, listening to the comments people made. Are the comments made by attendees flattering or embarrassing? If we want to be well thought of, we must start living that way well before our funeral.
Having a plan is necessary with leaving a legacy too. Kids don’t accidentally turn out well-rounded and healthy. Marriages don’t succeed by luck. These things take planning. They take strategy.
As we’ve studied the Old Testament character of Jonadab, we’ve seen this played out. He left his children and grandchildren a great legacy. And he did it according to plan.
His was a very simple, but profound strategy. Hear God’s word. Do what God says. “Be doers of the word and not hearers only…” (James 1:22) We see it in Ezra as well, “Now Ezra had determined in his heart to study the law of the Lord, obey it, and teach its statutes and ordinances in Israel.” (Ezra 7:10)
If we’ll build the house of our lives on the firm foundation of God’s word, we’re on our way to leaving a godly legacy behind.
I hope you’ll join us Sunday as we discuss “The Strategy of Legacy.”
