Legacy

Written by cycleguy on February 18th, 2018

In my last post, I talked about a legacy of faith. One of the responses was basically not seeing the sense in worrying about it. We die…that’s it. Since I don’t believe that death is the end…and since I do believe that dead men speak (not audibly)…I searched for something I had read years ago.  I found it! Of course, if you get the right people the answer is easy. 🙂 🙂  Here is why I want to leave a legacy of faith behind:

A great example of this is Jonathan Edwards, the Puritan Preacher from the 1700s.  Jonathan and his wife Sarah left a great godly legacy for his 11 children.

At the turn of the 20th century, American educator and pastor A.E. Winship decided to trace out the descendants of Jonathan Edwards almost 150 years after his death.  His findings are astounding, especially when compared to a man known as Max Jukes.  Jukes’ legacy came to the forefront when the family trees of 42 different men in the New York prison system traced back to him.

Jonathan Edwards’ godly legacy includes: 1 U.S. Vice-President, 3 U.S. Senators, 3 governors, 3 mayors, 13 college presidents, 30 judges, 65 professors, 80 public office holders, 100 lawyers and 100 missionaries.

Max Jukes’ descendants included: 7 murderers, 60 thieves, 50 women of debauchery, 130 other convicts. 310 paupers (with over 2,300 years lived in poorhouses) 400 who were physically wrecked by indulgent living.

It was estimated that Max Juke’s descendants cost the state more than $1,250,000.

One can perhaps question the research. I saw one source cite the VP as Aaron Burr (duelist with Alexander Hamilton). I even saw one source which completely discounted the research on Max Juke’s life. Even if both are true, that doesn’t change the truth of what we leave behind is important.  We either leave life or poison behind.

I choose to leave life.

 

7 Comments so far ↓

  1. Linda Stoll says:

    I choose to leave hope. Grace. Love.

    I need to keep those words in front of myself in times of unrest and uncertainty. I need to live those words out. Daily.

    Our legacy matters …

  2. Such a fascinating look at our legacies, Bill. What we do and say while here on earth absolutely DO matter. May we leave a Godly imprint for the future generations.
    Blessings!

  3. Betty Draper says:

    Thanks for the challenge Bill…

  4. Pam says:

    I, too, want to leave a legacy of faith, Bill. Like Betty said, thank you for the challenge.

  5. floyd says:

    This is a powerful point regardless of exactly how accurate. Who we are we pass down to our children and loved ones. We attract what we are.

    Looking at the history of the world, it has been the people of God that have been used to protect and care for the weak and less fortunate. It is our Christian heritage.