Create Memories and Celebrate Lives in Ways That Pass on Legacies
Have you ever come across an old photo album, yearbook, or journal and spent the afternoon walking down memory lane? In some of those old photos, you can spot that treasured family heirloom in the background. Maybe it was a vase or a picture frame that had been around for what seemed to be forever…
Your mind is flooded with memories of stories Grandma would tell, such as how she used that old vase to hold the flowers Grandpa picked up for her as he was coming home from his deployment during WWII.
Or perhaps you think back to that one-of-a-kind picture frame that always sat on your aunt’s bookshelf, displaying the picture of her and Dad when they were just toddlers.
Oh, the stories within those keepsakes!
Reminiscing can be one of life’s most wonderful, unpredictable, and thrilling delights. Truth be told, memories become a lens created from your past, through which you, and eventually your loved ones, observe the future.
After all, your memories become your legacy, but only if they are passed on.
Memories Are a Gift from the Lord
Memories are one of God’s greatest gifts to mankind. They evoke emotions that call us to action. Who hasn’t been told stories of their grandparents, identified with one of their traits, and thought, “Now that is a virtue I want to leave instilled in my grandchildren”?
So, what is the biblical significance of remembering and commemorating—beyond our own nostalgia? We remember so we can move forward. After all, to remember is not only a gift but also a command from God.
“And you shall remember the Lord your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day”—Deuteronomy 8:18
Marking a Moment in Time
Have you ever experienced a life-changing event or lost a loved one, prompting you to wish for a way to mark a moment in time that could be celebrated, remembered, and passed on to the next generation? When we create an intentional mark in time by sowing seeds into fertile soil, God takes it and multiplies it.
In other words, not only will your generation remember but so will the next, and the next, and so on. The memories of those events and loved ones are literally multiplied with each passing generation.
But how often do we let those events and memories pass us by? They may be captured in a photo and years later be taken out, dusted off, and looked at a few times, but what if there was a way to leave a legacy that impacted individuals and a nation in countless ways?
Would that change how you mark your moment in time?
Perhaps you have attempted to capture moments by creating a picture album or filming each special event on camera. Or maybe you’ve donated to a charity that was near to the heart of your lost loved one.
Those are, of course, great ideas. But what if there was something else—some way to sow deeper seeds of legacy that you didn’t even know existed?
Mark Your Moment by Sowing Seeds of Hope
What if there was a way to make a mark that not only lasted for hundreds of years but also sowed seeds of…
- Spiritual hope to God’s chosen people
- Opportunity by providing jobs
- Influence by taking a political stand with a crucial nation
- Personal growth by giving you physical roots to your spiritual life
- Legacy by remembering a defining moment or loved one
… all at once?
Would you want to take the opportunity?
You can leave a lasting legacy that truly cultivates hope.
You can sow into the Holy Land today by sponsoring an olive tree or a grapevine.
Now, let’s discuss why we have this internal desire to remember and leave a mark on this world in the first place.
The Biblical Significance of Remembering and Commemorating
When we read the Bible, we find that remembering started with a relationship between God and His chosen people. It was a way to nurture and grow the ultimate relationship between humanity and God. And the Lord chose Israel as His first love and nation to build that covenant, commemorative relationship with—which would ultimately be part of His plan to bless the world (see Genesis 18:18).
Why was it important to God that His creation remembered Him and His covenant with Israel? He calls us to remember His Promised Land so that we will remember His promises.
Would you agree that when you see the promises of God unfold just as the Bible depicts, it encourages your faith and shows His goodness and glory to the nations?
“I will praise You, O Lord, among the peoples; I will sing to You among the nations. For Your mercy reaches unto the heavens, and Your truth unto the clouds. Be exalted, O God, above the heavens; let Your glory be above all the earth.”—Psalm 57:9-11
Throughout His Word, God reminds us of the restoration that will take place in Israel, and as Believers, we are called to be an active part of that restoration.
‘Behold, the days are coming,’ says the Lord,
‘when the plowman shall overtake the reaper,
and the treader of grapes him who sows seed;
the mountains shall drip with sweet wine,
and all the hills shall flow with it.
I will bring back the captives of My people Israel;
they shall build the waste cities and inhabit them;
they shall plant vineyards and drink wine from them;
they shall also make gardens and eat fruit from them.
I will plant them in their land,
and no longer shall they be pulled up
from the land I have given them,’
says the Lord your God.”
—Amos 9:13-15
We Always Have a Choice
God, in His infinite wisdom and grace, always gives us a choice as to how we want to get involved with His Kingdom work. His perfect love invites us, but He also promises to bless us the more we draw closer to Him.
May you draw near to Him today and be blessed.