The weekend before Christmas our church lost a young man in a car accident. His death sent my thoughts in a couple different directions. The one that captured me first came as I considered his legacy.

This young man was on fire for God. And he had a servant’s heart. When we were working on the Joplin project in May, he was one of the two young men who came and gave hours helping us sort and box clothes and other items for the tornado victims. He worked with the youth group. He was someone that those in pastoral leadership counted on to always be willing to serve.

The grief ran deep through our church because he impacted so many.

And it got me thinking…what will my legacy be? Someday my life will end. I’ll be in heaven celebrating, but I’ll leave people behind. Will they even notice? Will it cause them to stop and think? To wonder why God allowed it? What larger purpose He must have? One that is a mystery to those left behind?

I want to live my life in a way that it leaves an impact…not for me, but for God. That it points those left to the One who matters most. What about you? What do you want your legacy to be?