"Then those who feared the Lord spoke to one another, and the Lord gave attention and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for those who fear the Lord and who esteem His name." Malachi 3:16

Every time I preach a funeral I am reminded that as humans we are all living to die. Death is an absolute and sobering reality, and one which we will all someday face. The Bible says that it is appointed for people to die once, then face the judgment of God.

 As a Christian I understand that I will someday die but that I will also be resurrected to stand before my Creator. He is the one who gave life to me, and one day I will be required to give account for what I did with that life.

As a Christian I am comforted in knowing that I will rise in the first resurrection and will stand before the Lord without reference to sin. I am leaving behind a Christian legacy because I was crucified with Him and He now lives His righteous life in me.

In Christ my sins have been forgiven and even the sinner I was is dead and buried. I was once identified with my father Adam, the sinner, but now I am joined to Jesus, the last Adam, who is the holy and righteous Son of God. On that Day I will stand before the Lord to receive my reward which will be according to the deeds of my life.

As one who believes what I read in the pages of my Bible, I understand fully that my life is leaving behind a legacy. There is a book of my life, even if it is only written into the memories of those who have known me.

The same can be said about you. You are leaving behind a legacy and much of it has already been written. When your life is over, the memories of it will live on. What will those memories be? Unfortunately, we cannot erase the chapters which have already been written in the book of our lives but we can ensure that it has a happy and meaningful ending. You are now in control of how your book ends and how the legacy of your life is remembered.

Your legacy can be a powerful example which will encourage and inspire others to excellence. Or it can be a bad example. The Apostle Paul said that Israel’s sins were recorded for us so that we would not fall into the same error. Let us strive to be all we can be in the Lord. And when that day comes when our book is published by God we shall not be ashamed.