He will be remembered forever...

“But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.” (Isaiah 32:8)

I somehow came across a youtube video that caught my eye.  There was this man, picking out a gift and another man approached him and asked if he would buy his milk for him.  He said he was out of money and needed milk for his kid.   The man who was approached, quickly reached in his pocket and gave the man asking a $10 then quickly grabbed a toy and was going to move on. The two started talking and it turned out that the man who gave the money had recently lost his wife and his child was in a wheelchair (who he was buying a gift for).  He had also lost his job during his bereavement and just found a new one—working overtime to buy his daughter a toy.  The toy was a little girl in a wheelchair just like his daughter.  So sweet.  It may have been staged but it was a perfect example of the one who is generous, finding ways to be generous despite circumstances.  When asked why, he said to the man asking for the cash, “It is just what I do.  I learned it from my wife to always find a way to give something.”  Then it turned out the milk carton was filled with bills totaling $7,000 that this man asking for cash gave in return to this generous man. 

Psalm 112:1-9 says, “Praise the Lord!  Blessed is the man who fears the Lord, who greatly delights in his commandments!  His offspring will be mighty in the land; the generation of the upright will be blessed.  Wealth and riches are in his house, and his righteousness endures forever.  Light dawns in the darkness for the upright; he is gracious, merciful, and righteous.  It is well with the man who deals generously and lends; who conducts his affairs with justice.  For the righteous will never be moved; he will be remembered forever.   He is not afraid of bad news, his heart is firm, trusting in the Lord.  His heart is steady, he will not be afraid, until he looks in triumph on his adversaries.  He has distributed freely; he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

The focus in this Psalm is not specifically on the generous man, but on the legacy that he is leaving.   His offspring will be mighty in the land and he is remembered forever.  It is well with him not just during his life but his children are established and a legacy is provided as a result of his generosity. 

Mark Batterson, the author of Do It For A Day, notes, “Your legacy is not what you accomplish but what others accomplish because of you.”

This is such a simple and pointed truth but at the same time, so profound.  At the end of the day, when we look back on our lives, if we wholly follow the Lord, we will leave a legacy.  And that legacy, by inherent design, involves other people.  We leave an inheritance to our children and our children’s children (Proverbs 13:22).

In scriptures I was reading tonight, it was the story of Joshua who conquered 31 kings.   This is a huge feat but ends up being only one line in the Bible.  What takes paragraph after paragraph is the inheritance that the tribes of Isreal received through conquering the land. Then the lord tells him that he is old, advanced in years and there still remains a great deal of land to possess.  He was to divide this out to the tribes to take possession of as they conquered their enemy.

What Joshua was passing to them was not only a land to inherit, but a faith and confidence in their ability to take the land.  He showed them a way to live by faith.  Joshua tells the tribe of Ephraim and Manasseh who wanted their inheritance fully handed to them, “You are a numerous people and have great power.  You shall not have one allotment only, but the hill country shall be yours, for though it is a forest, you shall clear it and possess it to its farthest borders.  For you shall drive out the Canaanites, though they have chariots of iron, and though they are strong.” (Joshua 17:17)

Caleb was also a man of faith and a mighty warrior who wholly followed the Lord his God (Joshua 14:8).  He tells the men of his tribe, “Whoever strikes Kiriath-Sepher and captures it, to him will I give Achsah my daughter as wife.”

All that to say, both of them encouraged the people that were underneath them to step into more.  Their legacy was not left with what they could do but with what those under them accomplished because of them.  They called others out into more.  We also see this with Moses calling out Joshua as the next leader and anointing him.

Who are those you are calling into more and how are you encouraging them?  In what ways are they growing and taking the land? 

Notice that Moses, Joshua and Caleb:

1)    Gave opportunities.  They opened the door for others to step forward and conquer.  Like David with his mighty men, the people under them grew stronger and bolder as they conquered incredible feats.

2)    Believed in them.  It was not enough to give them opportunities but they spoke over their men from a place of faith.  They called what was not as though it was.  They reached out with not only a hand up when needed but with confidence and belief that took them to the next level.  Who do we let speak over us?  Someone once noted that our lives are defined by what God speaks over us.  Who is speaking God over us and are we receiving it? 

3)    Put following the Lord wholly as their first priority (for themselves and those under them).  They did not settle for less and compromise but sent those who followed them to find the source of living water for themselves to make their own conquests.

4)    Thought of others first rather than themselves.  Generous heartedness is what God is making each one of us.  It is the opposite of the world.  Jude 16 notes about those who lack a transformed heart:  These people are grumblers and complainers living only to satisfy their desires.  They brag loudly about themselves and they flatter others to get what they want.

When we set out to give generously to others, it may seem small at the time as it is usually the little thing right in front of us.  It is the people that God gave us to help that we see all the time.  The Lord gives us gifts and empowers us to make a difference in their lives as we step out in obedience and trust.

What we fail to see is the impact it can potentially have generations down.  The Promised Land was established not only for the people living at the time but for generation after generation. 

In Isaiah 51, the Lord challenges us to look to our father Abraham and our mother Sarah.  It is from them, and their faithfulness, that the Covenant with God was birthed.  Their faithfulness continues to impact us today.  Generation after generation, the story unfolds.  

I remember someone who mentored me receiving all these prophetic words about writing books.  She had never written a book or planned to write one.  But I was there and knew that He was speaking to me through her.  That she would mentor me to a place that I would write books. All that to say, in God’s economy, YOU get credit for the things that those you mentor do!

What wonderful multiplication impact you have when you mentor someone!  You impact them and they impact two or three more and you get credit for all of it as if you did it yourself. 

David, while he did not build the temple, God visited him to tell him that his future lineage was going to be an eternal reign.   He was credited all the way down through Solomon and through the other generations until Jesus.  Looking at the lineage of Jesus, some of them just did their job and fulfilled their purpose, but others left this earth with a powerful testimony of great feats as they made a huge waves.   The choice is ours for the impact we make!

Lord Jesus, let us be those who notice, encourage, breathe live and mentor the next generation.  As it is very much worth doing, let us take the time to do this well!