It’s What You Leave Behind You When You Go

Country music isn’t all bad! I used to not even allow it in the house or car, but there is just something about Randy Travis these days… One of his songs in particular caught my attention recently. It is the one about the four passengers on the bus to Mexico that gets in a wreck. Perhaps you are familiar with it-- “Three Wooden Crosses”. Although it has the typical country music blunt language style, it does have a good message, several, actually, one of which is “It is not what you take with you when you leave this world behind, it’s what you leave behind you when you go.” Quite profound for country music, but very true, especially to those of us who are in Christ.

The reality of life and death is that none of us take a thing with us when we leave this world. And be assured, we all will leave this world. What is of the utmost importance to us is what we leave behind when we do go. Our legacy. Have you thought about that lately? What are you leaving behind? It is neither too early nor too late to think about it.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow refers to our legacy as “footprints” in his “Psalm of Life”, and puts it this way,

“…and, departing, leave behind us

Footprints in the sands of time

Footprints that perhaps another

Traveling o’er life’s solemn main

A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,

Seeing, shall take heart again…….”

I will ask you the same question that I posed to a graduating class several years ago- What footprints are you, or will you be responsible for? What are you leaving behind? You may struggle to figure out anything that you would be leaving behind, but there is something. People are watching you every day. Each day, unless you live in a vacuum, (and even I do not live in that!!) you are impacting some other life/ lives in this world. What are we leaving behind? In the song I mentioned earlier, the dying preacher gave his blood soaked Bible to a woman of ill repute, who was the only passenger who survived the crash (hence the 3 wooden crosses and not 4 by the side of the road). The woman changes her ways, and her son turns out to become a preacher, who tells the story and holds up the same Bible to his congregation.

Now, I know that this is just a fictitious little country song, but don’t miss the point here. The farmer in the song left 80 acres, ( I know that out here in the West, that doesn’t sound like much, but, trust me, back in the Midwest or East, that is a ranch!) and a son with the love of the land in his heart. The teacher, who was also a passenger on the bus, left a host of children with a love for learning and all the wisdom she had instilled in them. You have the ability, even the commission ( See Matthew 28: 19) to impact the lives of others, even to future generations, with your words, actions, attitudes, etc.. Everyone influences those around them in some ways. Jesus tells us to influence them for Him and His Kingdom.

In the past week, a sister-in-law’s body was put into the ground from whence it came. She didn’t take anything with her, didn’t have much to take. Her husband preceded her in passing from this world into eternity. She had no biological children of her own. Oh, but what she left behind! Her mark of love and influence on 17 brothers and sisters and their spouses. I know of 6 little children, ages birth to 11, to whom she was a mother and more when they lost their mother. There are a host of other children at a Christian school where she lived, who saw Jesus in her every day as she and her husband cleaned the school. She wasn’t notable, famous, highly educated, etc., but there will be many happy faces in Heaven (yes it is a real place) because of her influence.

Which brings me to that question again…What are you leaving behind? I ask this question as much of myself as of you. It is examination time. Life is getting too short for us to not be paying attention. Perhaps you are young and single and are wondering- “I’ve got my whole life. I’m not influencing anyone yet.” You have peers. They are paying attention. You have parents and other adults in your life. They are paying attention. Think no adult has ever been moved or changed because of the witness of a young person? Think again!

Maybe you are a mother. Surely you realize the awesomeness of your influence. Many times we will have to sacrifice the immediate approval of our children, especially our older ones (read that teenagers) to set the bar where we know it needs to be, to do ourselves and require of them to do the right things.

Perhaps you are a grandmother. Whoa! Your influence surpasses that of a parent. They are paying attention, and you rate highly in your grandchildren’s book, no matter how it seems. My grandmother taught me more in the 9 short years that I had with her, than anyone could imagine. I still miss her.

Perhaps you do not fall into any of the above mentioned categories. Trust me, your influence and opportunity to leave something behind is great. ( some water, some plant, 1 Cor. 3:6)

Your assignment in this life might be difficult. You may not actually see in this life what you have left behind (like our little preacher friend in the song) but there will come a time in eternity, when you will see the entire extension of what you have ‘left behind’ for the Kingdom.

Remember you are God’s instrument and witness in this world. Your footprints through life could turn someone else’s life around. Take heart-He is with you. “He is in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure.”