Leaving A Legacy

By Chuck (Sharing Compassion)

Yesterday at Fork Christian Church we launched a new building campaign . We are starting an eight-week study in conjunction with this on the book of Nehemiah. Joe, our pastor, started the sermon by speaking of what we hope to leave as a legacy when we leave this world. All of us have a desire within us to be something or to do something for which we will be remembered. This is part of what God has placed in us. Rick Warren wrote a book about this called The Purpose Driven Life. All of us have a special calling and unless we tap into this we will really never feel complete. Joe mentioned that all great "calls" have birthed from a Holy Discontent. As Christians we often see something that ignites the fire within us.

Compassion International was started by Reverend Everett Swanson in 1952 as a result of one of these moments. Broken by the sight of Korean war orphans he knew that there was something more that he could do. He returned to the states and encouraged others to help fund orphanages and to make a difference. From that moment  on  Compassion was born. Now an international organization operating in 26 countries the fire has been fanned and grown.

My journey is similar. Having served for years in Children's ministry I have a love for children and a desire for them to know our Lord. God gave me a period of "dryness" in order to prepare me for my next journey. By now, you have read or heard my story of meeting my first sponsored child (if not, read it here). Though I was already a sponsor and knew the poverty I did not understand it. Going to Honduras and seeing the truth gave me that Holy Discontent. I knew that I could do more and I wanted to do more. That is why I am now an advocate and an Area Coordinator. I want to truly leave a legacy. It is not about the children I sponsor but rather getting the message out to others. When I get to heaven I would love to see the number of children that were released from poverty from my initial sponsorship of Linda and moving outward from there. That trip to Honduras birthed three other direct sponsorships for me but what about the people I have spoken to, the churches I have worked with, the displays I have posted, the Facebook messages, the team I have encouraged. All of these have brought about sponsorships and have rippled out from there. Like a stone thrown into a pond I want to see those ripples grow and grow. That is what I want my legacy to be.

Which brings this to you. What do you want your legacy to be? Of course I would love to hear you say that you want to partner with me in this journey and sponsor a child. However we each have our own calling and our own ministry to discover. I encourage you to find your "discontent" and to act on it.