Legacy
Yio Chu Kang Chapel celebrates her 70th Anniversary today. In the past year, I have also had the privilege to attended the 70th birthday celebrations of a few of our church members as they gave thanks and honoured God.
Many people in their 60s and 70s make it a priority to leave behind a legacy. Whether material or otherwise, a legacy serves to make a lasting impact and secure the future of those who are loved. More selfishly, leaving behind a legacy signifies an individual’s hope to be part of a bigger story, thereby gaining a symbolic sense of immortality after they are gone. Should we aim similarly?
The origin of the word, “legacy” comes from the Latin root word “legare”, which means “to depute”, “to appoint” or “to commission”. It is also the root word for the frequently used organizational term, “delegate”, which means to “down” (de-) “depute” (-legare). The modern meaning of the word “legacy” has therefore shifted from its original meaning.
Knowing the original meaning of this word, we can conclude that in God’s spiritual family, it was Jesus who left behind the original legacy when He gave to His disciples the Great Commission, deputising them and delegating to them the responsibility of “making disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matt 28:19) As individuals who are His disciples, and as a church, we dare not claim and we should not aim to leave behind any legacy other than that which had been left to us by our Lord and Saviour. Rather than saying that we leave behind a legacy, as if we originated it, we should be thankful for the call to participate and to propagate the legacy of Jesus Christ.
How do we participate in and propagate the legacy of Jesus our Lord? Every Christian organization has a vision and a mission statement for this very purpose. Yio Chu Kang Chapel likewise. We can do many things, but let us always go back to review our vision and mission. Let us always seek to clarify our vision in relation to the context of the time and environment in which we live. Often, clarifying our vision may mean that we sharpen our focus on a people group, age group, or even individual families. Let us also seek to inspire mission according to the needs around us, both in our immediate neighbourhood and further afield. And may mission always be inspired not out of fear or obligation, but out of gratitude and love borne out of God’s love and grace toward us.
We are 70 years young. No matter the age, let us be faithful to participate in and propagate the commission and legacy of Jesus Christ. And echoing the words of the song, “Find Us Faithful”, may all who come behind us find us faithful, may the fire of our devotion light their way. May the footprints that we leave, lead them to believe, and the lives we live inspire them to obey.
By Elder Ong Kiat Hoe