Among all the kings Israel had, David was the reference, the one to look to. His reference was unlike any other because he followed the Lord his God in everything. In Israel, if it was told of you that you followed in the steps of David your forefather, then you knew you did well. In fact, in the book of Kings (first and second), it is recorded that the kings who did what the Lord regarded as just were always likened to king David. In a sense, David’s conduct was the model. If you did not know how to follow the Lord, you only needed to look at David and follow in his example. Today, we have been given a better David, one who had no sin, the man Jesus Christ, the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29). In Jesus’ life, we have the perfect model and reference on how to follow the Lord. I listened to a preacher say that Jesus was given to us as a corrector or realignment of the view of God we have, he is the real revelation of God to us. As Colossians tells us, Jesus is the “visible image of the invisible God” (Colossian 1:15). So, by looking at Jesus, we are able to see and know how God is, how He thinks, how He acts, His character, etc. Similarly, we too, believers in the Lord Jesus are now image bearers of Christ to the world. We reflect Christ everywhere we are. I wonder how often we think about our responsibility as Christians and how important it is for us to be a reference for Christ? As relational people, much of what we do is to be passed down to others, that is why we have the concept of inheritance. One important thing we must ensure is passed down to others is Christ. For some reasons until today, I had never really seen the depth in being imitators of Christ, that is, my conduct was either shedding light on who God is or was not. This assignment of being image bearers and imitators of Christ is tied to everything that God is, as a generational God, He wants to be known throughout every generation as the same God. Moreover, it also depicts the character of faithfulness and consistency that God exhibits. And finally, it reminded me that passing down the baton is not about me, it is all about Him. I exist to show Him to the world not to show myself, not so that others can appreciate me in this life but so that they might love Him. It is very humbling and at the same time very liberating. To live for Christ is to live free, which is what God intends for His children.
The bible is filled with stories of men and women who showed Christ to the world, who showed others how to follow God. I believe, there are many stories so that we are able to see the diversity that exists in following God, the plethora of situations one might find himself in and the singularity and oneness of God in all of that. Furthermore, these stories also allow us to see that men and women at our level were making mistakes, but despite their mistakes, repented and kept honouring God. These men and women were not “holier than thou”, they were regular folks. We might not be able to identify with biblical characters as much because of the timespan and the culture differences but thankfully God is not restricted to biblical characters. In our day-to-day, there are people that show us Christ in the way they live, and we are able to look at their lives and know for certain that God is at work and that we too should be living in a likeminded way. My point is, we do not have to look far to see contemporary examples of Christlikeness around us. God created us to be creatures who follow and imitate. We see that clearly in children who will do everything they see their parents do around them; we see that in adults who are led by different leaders whether good or bad. No one ever just becomes “something”; they have to had followed a trend somewhere, a way of life, a mindset. There is nothing new under the sun the bible tells us (Ecclesiastes 1:9), so if you are thinking a certain way, acting a certain way, chances are you saw it somewhere, or you were taught to act that way. After all, faith comes by hearing, doesn’t it?
Therefore, be careful about what you feed yourself on, be careful about who or what is leading you. Because others are following in your step and that is the legacy you will be leaving behind. The people of Israel were led astray by following false idols and this started by a king named Jeroboam. The consequences of his sin tainted Israel in a way that was only redeemable through Christ. We are people of legacy, that is how God made us. We were created to leave something for the next generation and God wants that something to be Him, our love for Him. What we pass down to others can either be good or evil. So, I ask, what are you leaving behind? What will you be remembered for? The Psalmist teaches us rightly to number our days so we might gain a heart of wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Our lives are not our own anymore (1 Corinthians 1:19-20). Let us therefore remember what is most important and let us look closely at others who have left us values that none can take such as the great cloud of witnesses spoken of in the book of Hebrews (Hebrews 12:1). These were people of legacy who through their lives teach us to live a life of faith which is pleasing to God. I pray the Lord instills it in our hearts to be mindful about what we are leaving behind to our children and their children’s children. Amen.
A Word Aptly Spoken 