I’m so excited you could stop by!
We’re on week five of our seven-week adventure.
I’m really excited about what I have to share today.
I’ve been wanting to share it since the beginning of the year, but I just couldn’t find the right moment. So here goes!
Even when the world is locked down, the Gospel is our legacy.
Today’s keyword is legacy.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us”
Hebrews 12:1
On Christmas day one of our favorite people went to heaven after a long battle with cancer.
As missionary kids we affectionately called him Uncle Vernon, but he was officially Doctor Vernon Rosenau, recently retired president of Baptist Mid-Missions.
Vernon was much more than a boss.
– Vernon was my mentor and my friend, a fellow MK (Missionary Kid).
– He recruited us to join Baptist Mid-Missions.
– He counseled me on my own journey with cancer.
– He believed in us and gave us some amazing opportunities to serve God.
It’s hard to measure the impact that he had on us and so many others (you may be one of them).
One of the strongest words that comes to mind when thinking of him is legacy.
Vernon’s grandparents were part of the original team that went out to Africa with Baptist Mid-Missions. (For a more detailed tribute click here.)
In reality, as believers we all have a legacy…
People passed down the faith of Apostles to us. My dad likes to say: “There are no spiritual grandkids.”
In our case there is both a spiritual legacy and a genealogical one.
My dad is a pastor. Melodee’s dad is a pastor.
My grandfather was a pastor.
Several of my ancestors were Baptist pastors in early colonial New England.
To top it off, I am a 13th generation direct descendant of William Brewster, who happened to arrive in the New World on the Mayflower, and was the de facto pastor of that congregation.
All this may seem like a great privilege, and it is…but it is also a great responsibility.
Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.
Luke 12:48b
Your legacy is no less important than mine.
You are a direct spiritual descendant of Christ’s disciples that sat on a hill in Galilee and heard the Sermon on the Mount.
What a privilege! What a responsibility!
May we leave a legacy worth following even after we have concluded our own race and fought the good fight.
May we leave a lasting legacy until Christ’s return.
We look forward to seeing you next week!
