Live a Legacy!

Hey dads! I was preparing for my "Wild at Heart" Life Group yesterday and while doing that there was a lot of questions about what your father was like. This was an interesting topic for me so I got pretty absorbed in the moment. I had a great father and mostly my memories of him are nothing but good so the experience really stirred up some great memories. I wrote a letter to myself on the day my father passed out of this world to the next, so that I could capture my feelings about him before they started to fade. I thought I would like to share some of the things I wrote that day with you and make a couple of points, so here goes.

Today my father died.... I feel very blessed to have been the son of such a great man of God. He taught me to live a life of passion, to live from my heart. He taught me to love God with all my heart, soul, and strength. He taught me to love a woman forever. He taught me to laugh and to cry. I grew up in a home where my father loved us and cared for us, his children, more than he did his own life. It is my prayer and my life's mission to become as great a man as my dad......... as I look back on on his life I am so encouraged to see how one humble man can change so many lives, one life at a time. He touched so many lives so deeply, especially mine.
(Written December 31st in Monterrey International Airport)

Here is a few of the take aways for me.

1. Your kids will not always remember what you said, but they will remember how you lived.
2. When you are generous with your life, your children will be left with a legacy, and not just a memory.
3. Being others centered rather than self centered will have eternal consequences.
4. Loving your wife passionately in front of your family will give your children the courage to do the same.
5. Living for a cause will give you the octane to overcome every obstacle.

My dad was no saint, but I have never known anyone who loved Jesus more than he did. Now that I am a pastor and father I understand the incredible challenge of balancing life in such a way that would inspire your child to feel the way I feel about my dad.

My challenge to you, men, is that you live for God with passion, that you love your wife forever, that you love your children more than you love your own self. Last but not least, I challenge you to live a sacrificial life that would make Jesus attractive to the world around you. I know that this is a tall order, but I believe in you, and more than that God believes in you!