“By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commanded as righteous when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.” – Hebrews 11:4
Every single person is going to leave a legacy whether we realize it or not. Hebrews 11:4 says, “By faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.” That is talking about legacy. The Bible says even when we are dead, our lives will still speak.
Consider this question today: when I’m dead, what will my life say? What will I leave behind?
Most people start thinking about their legacy far too late. It is understandable. After all, life is crazy! When you are a teenager, you are not thinking about legacy. You’re thinking about grades and dating and popularity and fun. The same is true in college…and then you get married and start having kids, and life gets crazy!
It is hard to think about legacy when you are a young adult working 60 hours a week and trying to pay a mortgage. And it is not like life slows down after that. After working hard and building for so many years, there will be a day when you wake up and realize you’re a real-life grown-up and now you are in that season of “adulting.” Before you know it, you are taking care of aging parents and focused on building your 401k.
Normally, when we begin thinking about legacy, we think in terms of possessions and stuff. We think, “When I’m gone, I am going to leave this for him and this for her.” And so we think about how we are going to divide our possessions and where we are going to leave our things.
But when you think about it, it is not the inheritance and possessions that you leave behind that count the most. Those things won’t last forever! The thing you leave your family that will last forever is your faith.
It is your faith that “still speaks, even though he is dead.” When your time on earth is done, what will your life say?