Legacy (Living Beyond the Now)
The rock band Van Halen released a hit song in the early 90’s, talking about living for the here and now. With Sammy Hagar’s killer vocals, he blasts out the following declaration on the chorus:
Right Now
Hey! It’s your tomorrow
Right Now
Come on, it’s everything
Right Now
Catch your magic moment
Do it right here and now
It means everything
(You’re welcome… you’ll be singing that for the rest of the day now, if you’re a 90’s baby)
I seriously doubt when the band wrote this anthem, they intended for the lyrics to ignite a realization that what you do today, really does produce an imprint for the future, both for yourself and those around you. I’m sure they meant it as, “do what feels right in the moment” vibe.
However, the concept expressed within those lyrics, if applied in the context of Kingdom living, is monumental. Chew on it for a second. Right now, it’s your tomorrow.
How can “right now” and “tomorrow” become synonyms, when they are clearly opposite?
Or what about the last three lines? Catch your magic moment, do it right here and now, it means everything.
Why does the here and now seem so vitally important that it would encompass “everything”? That seems pretty epic and what are these “magic moments” they are singing about?
: something transmitted by or received from an ancestor or predecessor
The biblical narrative is packed with examples of how men and women’s lives mark the generations to come, whether for good or evil.
Adam and Eve disobeyed God’s command, causing the sting of sin to continuously ripple outward until Christ returns.
Abraham’s faithfulness birthed the nation of Israel, while his impatience birthed those we know as Muslims today, and war between the brothers rages still.
Queen Ester’s bold determination to present herself before the king of Persia uninvited, saved her Jewish brothers and sisters from annihilation.
Peter preached boldly on the Day of Pentecost and thousands were saved.
Paul traveled miles, planting churches, sharing the gospel and winning many souls to Jesus.
This short list is but a tiny, minuscule sampling of those whose lives shaped biblical history, but what about the tremendous disciples who have helped shape our Christian faith in the modern age?
Detriech Bonhoeffer
C.S. Lewis
Charles Spurgeon
Jim and Elizabeth Elliot
Fanny Crosby
Mother Teresa
Martin Luther
Billy Graham
Martin Luther King Jr
Phil Robertson
Just as Van Halen declared over 30 years ago (yes, we really are getting that old), what you do today, matters tomorrow.
I was struck deeply by the recent passing of Phil Robertson, whom I mentioned above, and the impact his life had on millions.
God plucked up one man from the deep pit of sin, pulled him out and placed a fire for the things of Jesus in his heart that never wavered over the years. Actually, I feel it intensified. Because of Phil’s obedience to go and tell others about Christ, just as we are commanded to do in Acts, he brought countless souls to the Lord, and Phil’s children and his children’s children have given their lives in service to the Kingdom as well. This is legacy!
Our actions today, effect the tomorrow of not only our lives, but those around us. It’s easy for us to remain siloed in our thinking, to the point we cannot see the forrest for the trees, and we become so self-absorbed in our tiny world, we miss the grand design. This is another great deception of Satan.
Keep us focused internally. Do not think beyond the here and now. Don’t worry about the future impact of our choices. Do what feels right.. right now. This is so anti-gospel, it’s laughable. Everything Jesus Christ did while He walked this earth, was intended to point us forward to the future that awaits us in heaven.
We are to mimic our Master.
So, what are you doing right now, that will change your family tree?
How are you living in such a way that advances the will of God the Father and keeps pushing the plan forward?
Do you stop and think how the decisions you make today, will impact your friends and family tomorrow? Next week? Next year?
Remove the binoculars from your vision, so you can widen your focal field. There is a great, big world out there looking for hope, love, salvation, change and truth. Is your life leaving an imprint of Christ on the next generation?
I want desperately for my family to repeat the words of one of my favorite Steffany Gretzinger songs about me when I pass from this world:
Let my children tell their children
Let this be their memory
That all my treasure was in Heaven
And You were everything to me
“Right now” and “tomorrow”, become synonymous when we recognize the power of our actions in conjunction with obedience to the Word. We all have seen a pebble tossed into a pond and observed the water rings grow outward. The decision to throw the rock into the water was immediate, but the ripples effected time beyond. It may only be a few seconds past the initial splash, but the surrounding water was still impacted over that period.
If we scale up this illustration to represent our “right now” decision to share the gospel with our neighbor, which leads to his salvation 2 years later; the “right now” suddenly also becomes what changed the “tomorrow” of your friend. Right now, truly is your tomorrow with this perspective.
This Is Legacy!
Those are our “magic moments”. Those times when we allow God to work through us and in us, to radically change the life of another human. That is the power of the gospel, and it is “EVERYTHING”.
We must remain willing to be used and seek out opportunities to serve and declare the name of Jesus to those we interact with throughout our days. I pray we have the same passion as Phil Robertson and so many others who have gone before us did, to preach the name of Christ to a lost and dying world.
I pray the zeal for the things of the Lord will propel us forward, in a never ending quest for the next soul we can touch, not for our fame, but for the glory of God the Father.
So what are you waiting for? No better time than the “Right Now”. I mean, you might as well “Jump”, just go ahead and jump.