Legacy

Deuteronomy 32:2-3  

2 Let my teaching fall like rain
    and my words descend like dew,
like showers on new grass,
    like abundant rain on tender plants.

3 I will proclaim the name of the Lord.
    Oh, praise the greatness of our God!

Deuteronomy 32 is the last recorded teaching of Moses to Israel. He uses this opportunity to remind them of all the ways God has been faithful in their journey out of slavery, and he begins with gentleness. He wants to praise God and guide the people to do the same. Moses knows that you don’t reach anyone by beating them over the head with the truth. It must be revealed softly like dew descending on to new grass.

Verse 4, “God is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.” Moses has seen and experienced a lot in his long life. And at the culmination of all of it he wants his people to keep their focus on God. The God that loved them from the beginning and rescued them even though they went astray time and time again.

We have been called to live life differently as a holy and set apart people. Our trust in God sustains us through the hard times and joins in our celebration of the good times. It is this hidden strength that allows us to weep with those who weep and rejoice with those who rejoice. We won’t always have the answers to the big questions of life at our fingertips, but we have access to the one who does.

The most important task in this life is simply to share the love you have found with the people around you. While we may never have been enslaved by the pharaohs of Egypt, we all have a story of encountering a challenge that feels insurmountable, and seeing God provide in a way we could never have imagined. We are prepared, when strife rears its head again, to fix our eyes on our creator and say, “Lord, I need you now!”

We don’t like thinking about the last time we will get to speak to the ones we love. So, let’s call it legacy. What legacy do you want to be known for, and how can you share it with gentleness and love to those around you?