As I was reading through the story “Look For the Face of Jesus,” I couldn’t help but wonder at the legacy of faith that Betty’s mom left to her.  Most of the time when we think of leaving a legacy, we assume this needs to be some great endeavor generally by someone famous in history such as Andrew Carnegie who left us a legacy of thousands of libraries dotting the United States. Or perhaps we would think of George Washington Carver who left us the legacy of hundreds of uses for the peanut, many of which are still used today.  These are admirable achievements for sure and of great value to society. However, I would guess that if I asked you who in your life left you a legacy that changed your path dramatically , it would not be any person famous by the world’s standards but it would be an ordinary person faithfully living out their values.

I think of the legacy of giving my parents have left to me.  I saw them as a child traveling to places far from our home to build churches for those people who did not have the knowledge or funds to complete them on their own.  I watched them give weekly to their own church even though when I look back I know we could have really used that money ourselves. My parents were small business owners and money was tight since most of their profit went back in to building up the business.  They tirelessly gave anyway.  I know that I value missions and faithful giving because I saw my parents not just telling me about giving but doing it themselves.

I remember a teacher that gave me the legacy of trustworthiness.  She was a safe person to confide in when my best friend was molested by her older sister’s husband and she was too afraid to tell her parents.  We knew that we could trust this wonderful woman to do what needed to be done to help a young girl in trouble. She had shown us what it meant to be trustworthy in everything  by who she was faithfully every day.

I remember an older man at my church who gave me the legacy of unwavering belief.  He was a research scientist at Eli Lilly and held many patents for discoveries he made in his career.  He avidly pursued knowledge in the academic world as well as in the scriptures.  He contended that the world was much too complex for a thinking person not to believe in a creator.  He would say that it was statistically impossible for the universe and everything in it to occur by chance.  He showed me that intellect could co-exist with belief in God as he stood firmly in his beliefs.

As it says in the Book of Hebrews, we have a great cloud of witnesses who have gone on before us.  They looked beyond the trials here on earth to a heavenly kingdom that could not be seen or touched but was real just the same.  Several of the witnesses of faith that have shaped my life through their legacy are still here on earth but many have passed on from this life to be with Jesus.  As with Betty’s mother, they watched for the face of Jesus in each person they encountered on their way until the time they would see Him face to face in their heavenly home. Those of us who have benefited from their example are left to carry on this legacy of faith.