Friday April 24
ultimate posterity
Here in Britain, the houses of famous people are often commemorated with a small blue plaque. On a house in my town of Oxford reads one such sign: “C. S. LEWIS, Scholar and Author, lived here 1930–1963.” Many contemporary British writers, scientists, politicians, and others dream of having a blue plaque on their house one day to commemorate their lives.
Humans throughout history have tried numerous ways to ensure their posterity. Ancient rulers erected palaces, statues, triumphal arches, and other monuments to their own glory. Monarchs prayed for a son to preserve the family name. And this drive for lasting glory isn’t limited to the powerful. Deep down, all of us hope our lives and achievements will in some way live on after us. Oh, to have a legacy like that of C. S. Lewis!
Perhaps this drive for posterity is an echo of our longing for eternity (Ecclesiastes 3:11), but it has an obvious downside. We can seek our own glory rather than God’s, but by seeking to be known by future generations we can miss serving our own.
King David was famous, and always will be. But the apostle Paul put his life into perspective with these words: “After David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died” (Acts 13:36). Paul’s main point to his Jewish audience is that Jesus, who rose from the dead, is the ultimate King, not David (vv.34-35,37). But don’t miss the meaning between the lines. On earth, David’s life was short. His focus was doing God’s will for his own generation.
Serve your generation deeply, with faithfulness, artistry, and excellence, directing its needs and desires toward God’s will. Any legacy you leave will then be God’s business. —Sheridan Voysey
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This is not a reference to David, for after David had done the will of God in his own generation, he died and was buried with his ancestors, and his body decayed (v.36).
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Read Hebrews 6:10 and consider how God remembers the good things we do for Him.
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Are you seeking your own fame? How should our own future resurrection shape our pursuit of a legacy today?
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